4. Adab al Nufoos: The Disciplines of the Souls by Al Muhasibi part 4

آدَابُ النُّفُوسِ

ʾĀdābu al-Nufūsi

The Disciplines of the Souls  (that is, the education by which the lower selves are disciplined and made upright)

الْحَارِثُ بْنُ أَسَدٍ الْمُحَاسِبِيُّ

Al-Ḥārithu bnu ʾAsadin al-Muḥāsibiyyu

Al-Ḥārith ibn Asad al-Muḥāsibī

Source page 95

مُحَاسَبَةُ النَّفْسِ

Muḥāsabatu al-nafsi

Calling the self to account

النَّفْسُ وَاخْتِبَارُهَا فِي الْمَعْرِفَةِ وَالسُّلُوكِ

Al-nafsu wa-ikhtibāruhā fī al-maʿrifati wa-al-sulūki

Testing the self in knowledge and conduct

قُلْتُ: أَخْبِرْنِي كَيْفَ أُحَاسِبُ نَفْسِي فِي مَعْرِفَتِهَا؟ قَالَ: إِنَّ الْأَشْيَاءَ تُعْرَفُ بِالدَّلَالَاتِ وَالْعَلَامَاتِ وَالْأَمْثَالِ، وَسَأَضْرِبُ لَكَ فِي ذٰلِكَ مَثَلًا يَكُونُ عَلَمًا لِمَا سَأَلْتَ عَنْهُ.

Qultu: ʾakhbirnī kayfa ʾuḥāsibu nafsī fī maʿrifatihā? Qāla: ʾinna al-ʾashyāʾa tuʿrafu bi-al-dalālāti wa-al-ʿalāmāti wa-al-ʾamthāli, wa-saʾaḍribu laka fī dhālika mathalan yakūnu ʿalaman limā saʾalta ʿanhu.

I asked, “Tell me how to call my self to account in order to know it.” He replied, “Things are known through indications, signs, and examples. I will give you an example that serves as a sign for what you have asked about.”

إِنَّ مَثَلَ النَّاسِ فِي جُمْلَتِهِمْ وَفِي تَفَرُّقِهِمْ بَعْدَ الْمَعْرِفَةِ بِهِمْ وَالْخِبْرَةِ لَهُمْ وَتَفَاوُتِهِمْ وَتَفَاضُلِهِمْ، مَثَلُ سَفَطٍ مَوْضُوعٍ فِي طَرِيقٍ، فِيهِ قَوَارِيرُ مَمْلُوءَةٌ مُوكَاةُ الرُّءُوسِ، يَمُرُّ بِهِ النَّاسُ لَا يَدْرُونَ مَا فِيهِ.

ʾInna mathala al-nāsi fī jumlatihim wa-fī tafarruqihim baʿda al-maʿrifati bihim wa-al-khibrati lahum wa-tafāwutihim wa-tafāḍulihim, mathalu safaṭin mawḍūʿin fī ṭarīqin, fīhi qawārīru mamlūʾatun mūkātu al-ruʾūsi, yamurru bihi al-nāsu lā yadrūna mā fīhi.

People, taken together and then distinguished after one comes to know and test them, with their differences and varying merits, are like a chest placed on a road. It contains filled bottles with their tops tied shut. People pass it without knowing what it holds.

فَعَرَضَ لَهُ مِنَ النَّاسِ عَارِضٌ مِنَ الْمَارَّةِ، فَقَالَ: لَأَكْشِفَنَّ عَنْ هٰذَا السَّفَطِ فَلَأَنْظُرَنَّ مَا فِيهِ. فَكَشَفَ عَنْهُ فَرَأَى قَوَارِيرَ مَمْلُوءَةً لَا يَدْرِي مَا فِيهَا، فَحَلَّ أَوْكِيَتَهُنَّ كُلَّهُنَّ،

Fa-ʿaraḍa lahu mina al-nāsi ʿāriḍun mina al-mārrati, fa-qāla: laʾakshifanna ʿan hādhā al-safaṭi fa-laʾanẓuranna mā fīhi. Fa-kashafa ʿanhu fa-raʾā qawārīra mamlūʾatan lā yadrī mā fīhā, fa-ḥalla ʾawkiyatahunna kullahunna,

A passerby comes upon it and says, “I will uncover this chest and see what is in it.” He uncovers it and sees full bottles whose contents he does not know, so he unties them all.

فَبَدَا لَهُ مِنْ هٰذِهِ رَائِحَةُ الْمِسْكِ، وَمِنْ هٰذِهِ رَائِحَةُ الْعَنْبَرِ، وَمِنْ هٰذِهِ رَائِحَةُ الْبَانِ، وَمِنْ هٰذِهِ رَائِحَةُ الْخُلُوفِ، وَمِنْ هٰذِهِ رَائِحَةُ الْغَالِيَةِ، وَمِنْ هٰذِهِ رَائِحَةُ الْيَاسَمِينِ، وَمِنْ هٰذِهِ رَائِحَةُ الْوَرْدِ، وَسَائِرُ الطِّيبِ وَالْأَدْهَانِ.

fa-badā lahu min hādhihi rāʾiḥatu al-miski, wa-min hādhihi rāʾiḥatu al-ʿanbari, wa-min hādhihi rāʾiḥatu al-bāni, wa-min hādhihi rāʾiḥatu al-khulūfi, wa-min hādhihi rāʾiḥatu al-ghāliyati, wa-min hādhihi rāʾiḥatu al-yāsamīni, wa-min hādhihi rāʾiḥatu al-wardi, wa-sāʾiru al-ṭībi wa-al-ʾad-hāni.

From one comes the scent of musk, from another ambergris, from another ben oil, from another a stale odor [the printed khulūf is unusual here], from another ghāliya perfume, from another jasmine, from another rose, and other perfumes and oils.

وَمِنْ هٰذِهِ رَائِحَةُ الْكِبْرِيتِ، وَمِنْ هٰذِهِ رَائِحَةُ النَّفْطِ، وَمِنْ هٰذِهِ رَائِحَةُ الْقَطِرَانِ، وَمَا لَا طَاقَةَ لَهُ بِالْقِيَامِ عِنْدَهَا مِنْ شِدَّةِ نَتَنِ رِيحِهَا.

Wa-min hādhihi rāʾiḥatu al-kibrīti, wa-min hādhihi rāʾiḥatu al-nafṭi, wa-min hādhihi rāʾiḥatu al-qaṭirāni, wa-mā lā ṭāqata lahu bi-al-qiyāmi ʿindahā min shiddati natani rīḥihā.

From one comes the smell of sulfur, from another petroleum, from another tar, and smells so foul that he cannot bear to stand near them.

فَالنَّاسُ فِي جُمْلَتِهِمْ مِثْلُ السَّفَطِ وَالْقَوَارِيرِ، وَهُمْ فِي مَعْرِفَتِهِمْ وَالْبَحْثِ عَنْ أَخْلَاقِهِمْ مُتَفَرِّقُونَ عَلَى قَدْرِ الْقَوَارِيرِ.

Fa-al-nāsu fī jumlatihim mithlu al-safaṭi wa-al-qawārīri, wa-hum fī maʿrifatihim wa-al-baḥthi ʿan ʾakhlāqihim mutafarriqūna ʿalā qadri al-qawārīri.

Taken together, people are like the chest and its bottles. Once they are known and their characters examined, they differ as the bottles differ.

وَمَثَلُ السَّفَطِ أَيْضًا فِي جُمْلَتِهِ مَثَلُكَ أَنْتَ وَحْدَكَ، وَالْقَوَارِيرُ أَخْلَاقُكَ وَآدَابُكَ، وَرِيحُهَا الطَّيِّبُ خَيْرُ أَخْلَاقِكَ وَآدَابُكَ الْحَسَنَةُ الْمَرْغُوبُ فِيهَا، وَالرَّائِحَةُ الْمُنْتِنَةُ شَرُّ أَخْلَاقِكَ وَآدَابُكَ السَّيِّئَةُ الْقَبِيحَةُ.

Wa-mathalu al-safaṭi ʾayḍan fī jumlatihi mathaluka ʾanta waḥdaka, wa-al-qawārīru ʾakhlāquka wa-ʾādābuka, wa-rīḥuhā al-ṭayyibu khayru ʾakhlāqika wa-ʾādābuka al-ḥasanatu al-marghūbu fīhā, wa-al-rāʾiḥatu al-muntinatu sharru ʾakhlāqika wa-ʾādābuka al-sayyiʾatu al-qabīḥatu.

The chest taken as a whole also represents you alone. The bottles are your traits and manners. Their pleasant fragrance is the good in your character and your fine, desirable manners; their foul smell is your evil traits and your bad, ugly manners.

وَلَا تُعْرَفُ النَّفْسُ حَتَّى تُمْتَحَنَ وَتُخْتَبَرَ.

Wa-lā tuʿrafu al-nafsu ḥattā tumtaḥana wa-tukhtabara.

The self is not known until it is examined and tested.

فَاخْتَبِرْ نَفْسَكَ حَتَّى تَعْلَمَ مَا فِيهَا، وَإِنْ أَرَدْتَ ذٰلِكَ فَعَامِلْهَا بِالْمُوَافَقَةِ لَهَا وَالْمُفَاتَشَةِ لِهِمَّتِهَا فِي وَقْتِ الْهِمَّةِ، وَأَحِدَّ إِلَيْهَا النَّظَرَ، حَتَّى تَعْرِفَ حِلْمَكَ فِي الْوَقْتِ الَّذِي عَرَضَ لَكَ فِيهِ سَفِيهٌ فَسَفِهَ عَلَيْكَ، لَيْسَ فِي الْوَقْتِ الَّذِي وَافَقَ هَوَاكَ.

Fa-ikhtabir nafsaka ḥattā taʿlama mā fīhā, wa-ʾin ʾaradta dhālika fa-ʿāmilhā bi-al-muwāfaqati lahā wa-al-mufātashati lihimmatihā fī waqti al-himmati, wa-ʾaḥidda ʾilayhā al-naẓara, ḥattā taʿrifa ḥilmaka fī al-waqti alladhī ʿaraḍa laka fīhi safīhun fa-safiha ʿalayka, laysa fī al-waqti alladhī wāfaqa hawāka.

Test your self until you know what is within it. If you want this, deal with it by going along with it while scrutinizing its purpose at the moment that purpose arises. Look sharply at it, so that you know your forbearance when a foolish person confronts you and treats you foolishly, not when things suit your desire.

Source pages 95–96

وَاعْرِفْ تَوَاضُعَكَ فِي وَقْتِ مَا جَفَاكَ جَافٍ وَأَكْرَمَكَ مُكْرِمٌ، فَإِنَّ فِيهِمَا الْفِتْنَةَ، فَإِنَّ الْعَبْدَ رُبَّمَا أَظْهَرَ التَّوَاضُعَ عِنْدَ الْكَرَامَةِ لِيَزْدَادَ مِنْهَا، وَرُبَّمَا تَوَاضَعَ عِنْدَ الْجَفَاءِ لِيَثْبُتَ لَهُ بِالتَّوَاضُعِ عِنْدَ ذٰلِكَ مَنْزِلَةٌ بَيْنَ النَّاسِ، فَتَوَقَّفْ عِنْدَ ذٰلِكَ كُلِّهِ وَفَاتِشِ الْهِمَّةَ.

Wa-iʿrif tawāḍuʿaka fī waqti mā jafāka jāfin wa-ʾakramaka mukrimun, fa-ʾinna fīhimā al-fitnata, fa-ʾinna al-ʿabda rubbamā ʾaẓhara al-tawāḍuʿa ʿinda al-karāmati liyazdāda minhā, wa-rubbamā tawāḍaʿa ʿinda al-jafāʾi liyathbuta lahu bi-al-tawāḍuʿi ʿinda dhālika manzilatun bayna al-nāsi, fa-tawaqqaf ʿinda dhālika kullihi wa-fātishi al-himmata.

Know your humility when someone treats you coldly and when someone honors you, for both contain a trial. A servant may display humility when honored so as to receive more honor; he may act humbly when treated coldly so that his humility gains him standing among people. Pause in all these situations and examine your purpose.

Source page 96

وَاعْرِفْ صَمْتَكَ عِنْدَ الْخَوْفِ مِنْ سُقُوطِ جَاهِكَ عِنْدَ مَنْ لَكَ عِنْدَهُ الْجَاهُ وَالْقَدْرُ.

Wa-iʿrif ṣamtaka ʿinda al-khawfi min suqūṭi jāhika ʿinda man laka ʿindahu al-jāhu wa-al-qadru.

Know your silence when you fear losing your standing with someone who holds you in esteem.

وَاعْرِفْ صِدْقَكَ عِنْدَ الْحَالَةِ الَّتِي يَتَصَنَّعُ وَيَتَزَيَّنُ فِي مِثْلِهَا الْمُتَزَيِّدُونَ وَالْمُتَصَنِّعُونَ.

Wa-iʿrif ṣidqaka ʿinda al-ḥālati allatī yataṣannaʿu wa-yatazayyanu fī mithlihā al-mutazayyidūna wa-al-mutaṣanniʿūna.

Know your truthfulness in a situation in which those who exaggerate and pretend put on an attractive display.

وَاعْرِفْ نُصْحَكَ عِنْدَ حُبِّكَ لِنَفْسِكَ وَلِصَدِيقِكَ وَعَدُوِّكَ، حَتَّى تَعْلَمَ: هَلْ تُحِبُّ لِغَيْرِكَ مَا تُحِبُّ لِنَفْسِكَ أَمْ لَا؟

Wa-iʿrif nuṣḥaka ʿinda ḥubbika linafsika wa-liṣadīqika wa-ʿaduwwika, ḥattā taʿlama: hal tuḥibbu lighayrika mā tuḥibbu linafsika ʾam lā?

Know your goodwill in your love for yourself, your friend, and your enemy, until you know whether you love for another what you love for yourself.

وَاعْرِفْ صَبْرَكَ عِنْدَ تَرْكِ شَهْوَةٍ قَدْ مَلَكَهَا، هَلْ تَسْتَطِيعُ تَرْكَهَا عَلَى ذٰلِكَ أَمْ لَا؟

Wa-iʿrif ṣabraka ʿinda tarki shahwatin qad malakahā, hal tastaṭīʿu tarkahā ʿalā dhālika ʾam lā?

Know your patience when relinquishing a desire already within one's possession: can you give it up in that situation or not?

وَاعْرِفْ وَرَعَكَ عِنْدَ الْحَالَةِ الَّتِي اسْتَمْكَنْتَ مِنْهَا، هَلْ تَسْتَطِيعُ الْوُقُوفَ عِنْدَهَا إِذَا الْتَبَسَتْ عَلَيْكَ أَمْ لَا؟

Wa-iʿrif waraʿaka ʿinda al-ḥālati allatī istamkanta minhā, hal tastaṭīʿu al-wuqūfa ʿindahā ʾidhā iltabasat ʿalayka ʾam lā?

Know your scrupulousness when a situation is within your power: can you stop when it becomes unclear to you or not?

وَاعْرِفْ عَقْلَكَ عِنْدَ تَرْكِ مَا لَا نَفْعَ لَكَ فِيهِ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَلَا فِي الْآخِرَةِ، وَلَا ثَوَابَ لَكَ فِيهِ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، هَلْ تَسْتَطِيعُ تَرْكَ ذٰلِكَ أَمْ لَا؟

Wa-iʿrif ʿaqlaka ʿinda tarki mā lā nafʿa laka fīhi fī al-dunyā wa-lā fī al-ʾākhirati, wa-lā thawāba laka fīhi ʿinda Allāhi taʿālā, hal tastaṭīʿu tarka dhālika ʾam lā?

Know your understanding when giving up what benefits you neither in this world nor the next and brings you no reward with God Most High: can you give it up or not?

وَاعْرِفْ أَمَانَتَكَ عِنْدَ هَوَاكَ فِي الْوَقْتِ الَّذِي تَهْوَاهُ، هَلْ تَضْبِطُ أَدَاءَ أَمَانَتِكَ فِي ذٰلِكَ الْوَقْتِ أَمْ لَا؟

Wa-iʿrif ʾamānataka ʿinda hawāka fī al-waqti alladhī tahwāhu, hal taḍbiṭu ʾadāʾa ʾamānatika fī dhālika al-waqti ʾam lā?

Know your trustworthiness in the face of your desire, at the moment you feel it: can you keep your trust faithfully at that moment or not?

وَاعْرِفْ طَمَعَكَ فِي وَقْتِ هَيَجَانِ رَغْبَتِكَ، هَلْ تَسْتَطِيعُ عِنْدَ ذٰلِكَ الْإِيَاسَ أَمْ لَا؟

Wa-iʿrif ṭamaʿaka fī waqti hayajāni raghbatika, hal tastaṭīʿu ʿinda dhālika al-ʾiyāsa ʾam lā?

Know your covetousness when your longing surges: can you then give up hope of obtaining its object or not?

فَإِنْ كُنْتَ فِي هٰذِهِ الْحَالَاتِ وَالْأَوْقَاتِ مَحْمُودًا فَمَا أَحْسَنَ خَيْرَكَ، وَاحْمَدِ اللَّهَ، وَاسْأَلْهُ الزِّيَادَةَ مِنْ فَضْلِهِ، وَامْضِ فَإِنَّكَ عَلَى سَبِيلِ الِاسْتِقَامَةِ، وَطَرِيقِ الْمَحَبَّةِ، وَمَحَجَّةِ الْإِيمَانِ.

Fa-ʾin kunta fī hādhihi al-ḥālāti wa-al-ʾawqāti maḥmūdan fa-mā ʾaḥsana khayraka, wa-iḥmadi Allāha, wa-isʾalhu al-ziyādata min faḍlihi, wa-imḍi fa-ʾinnaka ʿalā sabīli al-istiqāmati, wa-ṭarīqi al-maḥabbati, wa-maḥajjati al-ʾīmāni.

If you are praiseworthy in these situations and at these moments, how fine is your goodness! Praise God, ask Him for more of His bounty, and go forward: you are on the way of uprightness, the path of love, and the clear road of faith.

وَإِنْ كُنْتَ فِي هٰذِهِ الْحَالَاتِ مَذْمُومًا، فَأَخْلَاقُكَ وَسِيرَتُكَ أَوْلَى بِكَ أَنْ تُصْلِحَهَا، فَإِنَّ فِيكَ فَسَادًا عَظِيمًا، وَلَسْتَ عَلَى سَبِيلِ الِاسْتِقَامَةِ، وَلَا عَلَى طَرِيقِ الْمَحَبَّةِ، وَلَا عَلَى مَحَجَّةِ الْإِيمَانِ.

Wa-ʾin kunta fī hādhihi al-ḥālāti madhmūman, fa-ʾakhlāquka wa-sīratuka ʾawlā bika ʾan tuṣliḥahā, fa-ʾinna fīka fasādan ʿaẓīman, wa-lasta ʿalā sabīli al-istiqāmati, wa-lā ʿalā ṭarīqi al-maḥabbati, wa-lā ʿalā maḥajjati al-ʾīmāni.

If you are blameworthy in these situations, correcting your character and conduct deserves your foremost attention. There is great corruption within you, and you are not on the way of uprightness, the path of love, or the clear road of faith.

فَاتَّقِ اللَّهَ، وَرَاجِعْ مُفَاتَشَةَ نَفْسِكَ، وَإِصْلَاحَ فَسَادِهَا.

Fa-ittaqi Allāha, wa-rājiʿ mufātashata nafsika, wa-ʾiṣlāḥa fasādihā.

So fear God and return to scrutinizing your self and correcting its corruption.

قُلْتُ: يَجِيءُ مِنِّي فِي بَعْضِ أَحْوَالِي مَا أَمْقُتُ نَفْسِي عَلَيْهِ، وَتَشْتَدُّ عَلَيْهِ نَدَامَتِي.

Qultu: yajīʾu minnī fī baʿḍi ʾaḥwālī mā ʾamqutu nafsī ʿalayhi, wa-tashtaddu ʿalayhi nadāmatī.

I said, “In some of my states, things come from me for which I loathe my self and feel intense remorse.”

Source page 97

قَالَ: مَقْتُكَ لَهَا مِنْ مَعْرِفَتِكَ بِهَا، وَنَدَامَتُكَ عَلَيْهَا دَوَاؤُهَا. فَإِذَا نَظَرْتَ إِلَى عَثْرَةِ غَيْرِكَ فَاذْكُرْ عَثْرَتَكَ وَمَقْتَكَ لِنَفْسِكَ، وَلَوْ أَنَّ مَصْلَحَةَ النَّفْسِ وَمَنْفَعَتَهَا كَانَتْ فِيمَا تَهْوَى أَوْ تَشْتَهِي، لَكَانَ النَّاسُ كُلُّهُمْ صَالِحِينَ، وَلٰكِنْ جُعِلَ صَلَاحُهَا فِيمَا تَكْرَهُ، وَفَسَادُهَا فِيمَا تُحِبُّ وَتَشْتَهِي.

Qāla: maqtuka lahā min maʿrifatika bihā, wa-nadāmatuka ʿalayhā dawāʾuhā. Fa-ʾidhā naẓarta ʾilā ʿathrati ghayrika fa-udhkur ʿathrataka wa-maqtaka linafsika, wa-law ʾanna maṣlaḥata al-nafsi wa-manfaʿatahā kānat fīmā tahwā ʾaw tashtahī, lakāna al-nāsu kulluhum ṣāliḥīna, wa-lākin juʿila ṣalāḥuhā fīmā takrahu, wa-fasāduhā fīmā tuḥibbu wa-tashtahī.

He replied, “Your loathing of it comes from knowing it, and your remorse over it is its medicine. When you see another person's stumble, remember your own and your loathing of your self. If the self's welfare and benefit lay in what it desires or craves, all people would be righteous. But its soundness has been placed in what it dislikes, and its corruption in what it loves and craves.”

أَمَا إِنَّهَا لَا تَكْرَهُ الصَّلَاحَ وَالْخَيْرَ، وَلٰكِنْ تَكْرَهُ الْمَكْرُوهَ الَّذِي بِهِ تَنَالُ الصَّلَاحَ وَالْخَيْرَ. وَلَوْ أَمْكَنَهَا دَرَجَةُ الْأَبْرَارِ بِأَعْمَالِ الْفُجَّارِ لَقَبِلَتْهَا. فَأَمَّا الشَّرُّ فَإِنَّهَا تُحِبُّهُ، وَتُحِبُّ خِصَالَهُ وَطَرَائِقَهُ، وَكُلَّ شَيْءٍ مِنْهُ.

ʾAmā ʾinnahā lā takrahu al-ṣalāḥa wa-al-khayra, wa-lākin takrahu al-makrūha alladhī bihi tanālu al-ṣalāḥa wa-al-khayra. Wa-law ʾamkanahā darajatu al-ʾabrāri bi-ʾaʿmāli al-fujjāri laqabilat-hā. Fa-ʾammā al-sharru fa-ʾinnahā tuḥibbuhu, wa-tuḥibbu khiṣālahu wa-ṭarāʾiqahu, wa-kulla shayʾin minhu.

It does not dislike soundness and goodness themselves. It dislikes the unpleasant means by which they are attained. If it could reach the rank of the virtuous through the deeds of the wicked, it would accept it. As for evil, it loves it, its qualities and paths, and everything belonging to it.

وَمِنْ مُحَاسَبَتِكَ لَهَا: أَنْ تَخْلُوَ بِهَا، وَتَرُدَّ عَلَيْهَا فِعَالَهَا، فَتَقُولَ: يَا نَفْسُ، إِنَّكِ لَا تَقْدِرِينَ أَنْ تُخَادِعِيَ اللَّهَ، وَلَا تُغَالِبِيهِ، فَلَا تَقْبَلِي مُخَادَعَةَ الشَّيْطَانِ، وَلَا مُغَالَبَتَهُ، وَلَا تَتَّبِعِي هَوَاكِ، فَيُرْدِيَكِ وَيُهْلِكَكِ.

Wa-min muḥāsabatika lahā: ʾan takhluwa bihā, wa-tarudda ʿalayhā fiʿālahā, fa-taqūla: yā nafsu, ʾinnaki lā taqdirīna ʾan tukhādiʿiya Allāha, wa-lā tughālibīhi, fa-lā taqbalī mukhādaʿata al-shayṭāni, wa-lā mughālabatahu, wa-lā tattabiʿī hawāki, fa-yurdiyaki wa-yuhlikaki.

Part of calling your self to account is to be alone with it and confront it with its deeds. Say, “My self, you cannot deceive God or overpower Him. Do not accept Satan's deception or his domination, and do not follow your desire, lest it bring you down and destroy you.”

وَإِنِّي لَسْتُ أَحْمِلُكَ عَلَى مَا لَا طَاقَةَ لَكَ بِهِ، وَلَا عِلْمَ لَكَ فِيهِ، وَإِنِّي أَرَاكَ تُحِبُّ لِنَفْسِكَ مَا تَمْقُتُ عَلَيْهِ غَيْرَكَ، وَتَكْرَهُ لِنَفْسِكَ مَا تُحِبُّ عَلَيْهِ غَيْرَكَ.

Wa-ʾinnī lastu ʾaḥmiluka ʿalā mā lā ṭāqata laka bihi, wa-lā ʿilma laka fīhi, wa-ʾinnī ʾarāka tuḥibbu linafsika mā tamqutu ʿalayhi ghayraka, wa-takrahu linafsika mā tuḥibbu ʿalayhi ghayraka.

I am not asking you to undertake what is beyond your power or knowledge. Yet I see you loving for yourself what makes you loathe another, and disliking for yourself what makes you love another.

قِمَّةُ الْخِدَاعِ النَّفْسِيِّ وَحَقِيقَةُ التَّوَسُّلِ بِالصَّالِحِينَ

Qimmatu al-khidāʿi al-nafsiyyi wa-ḥaqīqatu al-tawassuli bi-al-ṣāliḥīna

The height of self-deception and the reality of seeking a means through the righteous

أَرَاكَ تُحِبُّ أَهْلَ التَّوَاضُعِ وَالصِّدْقِ وَالْأَمَانَةِ، حَتَّى لَوْ رَأَيْتَ قُبُورَهُمْ وَآثَارَهُمْ لَأَحْبَبْتَهَا فِيمَا تَزْعُمُ، وَتَكْرَهُ خِصَالَهُمُ الَّتِي بِهَا نَالُوا الْحُبَّ مِنْكَ، حَتَّى لَوْ قَدَرْتَ أَنْ تَكُونَ فِي أَعْدَى عَدُوِّكَ بَعْدَ أَنْ تَزُولَ عَنْكَ لَكَانَ ذٰلِكَ مِنْكَ.

ʾArāka tuḥibbu ʾahla al-tawāḍuʿi wa-al-ṣidqi wa-al-ʾamānati, ḥattā law raʾayta qubūrahum wa-ʾāthārahum laʾaḥbabtahā fīmā tazʿumu, wa-takrahu khiṣālahumu allatī bihā nālū al-ḥubba minka, ḥattā law qadarta ʾan takūna fī ʾaʿdā ʿaduwwika baʿda ʾan tazūla ʿanka lakāna dhālika minka.

I see you loving people of humility, truthfulness, and trustworthiness, so much that, you claim, you would love even their graves and traces if you saw them. Yet you dislike the very qualities by which they won your love, so much that, if you could have those qualities leave you and pass to your bitterest enemy, you would do so.

فَإِمَّا أَنْ تَكُونَ تُرِيدُ مُخَادَعَةَ اللَّهِ إِذْ عَلِمْتَ أَنَّهُ يَطَّلِعُ مِنْكَ عَلَى ذٰلِكَ، وَإِمَّا أَنْ تَكُونَ لَا تُحْسِنُ أَنْ تَطْلُبَ الْخَيْرَ.

Fa-ʾimmā ʾan takūna turīdu mukhādaʿata Allāhi ʾidh ʿalimta ʾannahu yaṭṭaliʿu minka ʿalā dhālika, wa-ʾimmā ʾan takūna lā tuḥsinu ʾan taṭluba al-khayra.

Either you mean to deceive God, although you know He sees this in you, or you do not know how to seek goodness.

يَا أَخِي، إِنَّ الْجَائِعَ يُحِبُّ الْخُبْزَ، وَإِنَّ الْعَطْشَانَ يُحِبُّ الْمَاءَ، وَلَوْ جُعِلَ الْخُبْزُ وَالْمَاءُ بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمَا عَلَى مَائِدَةٍ، أَوْ عُلِّقَ فِي أَعْنَاقِهِمَا، مَا نَفَعَهُمَا عِلْمُهُمَا بِأَنَّ الْخُبْزَ وَالْمَاءَ مَعَهُمَا، وَلَا يَنْفَعُهُمَا قُرْبُهُمَا مِنْهُمَا، دُونَ أَنْ يَأْكُلَا مِنَ الطَّعَامِ وَيَشْرَبَا مِنَ الشَّرَابِ.

Yā ʾakhī, ʾinna al-jāʾiʿa yuḥibbu al-khubza, wa-ʾinna al-ʿaṭshāna yuḥibbu al-māʾa, wa-law juʿila al-khubzu wa-al-māʾu bayna ʾaydīhimā ʿalā māʾidatin, ʾaw ʿulliqa fī ʾaʿnāqihimā, mā nafaʿahumā ʿilmuhumā bi-ʾanna al-khubza wa-al-māʾa maʿahumā, wa-lā yanfaʿuhumā qurbuhumā minhumā, dūna ʾan yaʾkulā mina al-ṭaʿāmi wa-yashrabā mina al-sharābi.

My brother, a hungry person loves bread, and a thirsty person loves water. But if bread and water were set before them on a table or hung around their necks, knowing that they had them would do them no good. Their nearness would not benefit them without eating the food and drinking the drink.

Source pages 97–98

وَهٰكَذَا أَنْتَ، لَا يَنْفَعُكَ عِلْمُكَ بِالْخَيْرِ، وَلَا قُرْبُهُ مِنْكَ، وَلَا حُبُّكَ لَهُ، حَتَّى يَكُونَ فِيكَ، وَتَكُونَ مِنْ أَهْلِهِ، بَلْ لَا أَزْعُمُ أَنَّكَ تُحِبُّهُ، وَلٰكِنَّكَ مَخْدُوعٌ أَوْ مُخَادِعٌ فِي دَعْوَاكَ أَنَّكَ تُحِبُّهُ.

Wa-hākadhā ʾanta, lā yanfaʿuka ʿilmuka bi-al-khayri, wa-lā qurbuhu minka, wa-lā ḥubbuka lahu, ḥattā yakūna fīka, wa-takūna min ʾahlihi, bal lā ʾazʿumu ʾannaka tuḥibbuhu, wa-lākinnaka makhdūʿun ʾaw mukhādiʿun fī daʿwāka ʾannaka tuḥibbuhu.

It is the same with you. Your knowledge of goodness, its nearness to you, and your love for it do not benefit you until it is within you and you belong to its people. Indeed, I would not say that you love it: you are deceived or deceptive in claiming to love it.

Source page 98

يَا أَخِي، هَلْ رَأَيْتَ عَطْشَانَ اسْتَمْكَنَ مِنَ الْمَاءِ الْبَارِدِ فَلَمْ يَشْرَبْهُ إِلَّا مُدَّعٍ لِلْعَطَشِ لَيْسَ بِعَطْشَانَ؟

Yā ʾakhī, hal raʾayta ʿaṭshāna istamkana mina al-māʾi al-bāridi fa-lam yashrabhu ʾillā muddaʿin li-al-ʿaṭashi laysa biʿaṭshāna?

My brother, have you ever seen a thirsty person with access to cold water who did not drink it, unless he merely claimed to be thirsty and was not?

أَوْ هَلْ رَأَيْتَ جَوْعَانَ وَجَدَ طَعَامًا قَدْ أَمْكَنَهُ، فَلَمْ يَأْكُلْهُ إِلَّا مُدَّعٍ لِلْجُوعِ لَيْسَ بِجَوْعَانَ؟

ʾAw hal raʾayta jawʿāna wajada ṭaʿāman qad ʾamkanahu, fa-lam yaʾkulhu ʾillā muddaʿin li-al-jūʿi laysa bijawʿāna?

Or have you seen a hungry person find food within reach yet not eat it, unless he merely claimed to be hungry and was not?

فَمَا أَبْيَنَ إِبْطَالَ دَعْوَاكَ فِيمَا تَزْعُمُ أَنَّكَ تُحِبُّ الْخَيْرَ وَأَهْلَهُ إِذَا قِسْتَ مَا تُحِبُّ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا بِمَا تُحِبُّ مِنَ الْآخِرَةِ، لِأَنِّي أَرَاكَ إِذَا أَحْبَبْتَ شَيْئًا مِنَ الدُّنْيَا، أَحْبَبْتَ أَلَّا يَكُونَ لَهُ مَالِكٌ غَيْرُكَ. هٰذَا هُوَ الْحُبُّ الصَّادِقُ بِعَيْنِهِ.

Fa-mā ʾabyana ʾibṭāla daʿwāka fīmā tazʿumu ʾannaka tuḥibbu al-khayra wa-ʾahlahu ʾidhā qista mā tuḥibbu mina al-dunyā bimā tuḥibbu mina al-ʾākhirati, li-ʾannī ʾarāka ʾidhā ʾaḥbabta shayʾan mina al-dunyā, ʾaḥbabta ʾallā yakūna lahu mālikun ghayruka. Hādhā huwa al-ḥubbu al-ṣādiqu biʿaynihi.

How plainly your claim to love goodness and its people is disproved when you compare what you love of this world with what you love of the next! I see that, when you love something worldly, you wish no one but you possessed it. That is genuine love itself.

فَإِذَا أَحْبَبْتَ شَيْئًا مِنْ أَعْمَالِ الصَّالِحِينَ، فِيمَا تَزْعُمُ، فَلَيْسَ شَيْءٌ أَثْقَلَ عَلَيْكَ مِنْ أَنْ تَكُونَ أَنْتَ صَاحِبَهُ. وَلَوْ كُنْتَ مُحِبًّا لَهُ لَأَحْبَبْتَ أَلَّا يَكُونَ أَحَدٌ سَبَقَكَ، وَلَا يَمْلِكَ مِنْهُ أَكْثَرَ مِنَ الَّذِي تَمْلِكُ.

Fa-ʾidhā ʾaḥbabta shayʾan min ʾaʿmāli al-ṣāliḥīna, fīmā tazʿumu, fa-laysa shayʾun ʾathqala ʿalayka min ʾan takūna ʾanta ṣāḥibahu. Wa-law kunta muḥibban lahu laʾaḥbabta ʾallā yakūna ʾaḥadun sabaqaka, wa-lā yamlika minhu ʾakthara mina alladhī tamliku.

But when, as you claim, you love a deed of the righteous, nothing weighs more heavily on you than doing it yourself. If you truly loved it, you would wish no one had preceded you in it or possessed more of it than you do.

يَا أَخِي، أَمَا آنَ لَكَ أَنْ تَمَلَّ وَتَشْبَعَ مِنَ الْكَذِبِ، وَالِاغْتِرَارِ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى؟ أَمَا آنَ لَكَ أَنْ تُحِبَّ أَنْ يَكُونَ اسْمُكَ يَوْمًا وَاحِدًا مِنْ جَمِيعِ عُمْرِكَ مَعَ أَسْمَاءِ الصَّالِحِينَ الْمُتَوَاضِعِينَ، الْمُخْلِصِينَ الْمُنَاصِحِينَ، الشَّاكِرِينَ الرَّاضِينَ، الصَّابِرِينَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ، الْوَاثِقِينَ الْمُتَوَكِّلِينَ، الْمُفَوِّضِينَ الْخَائِفِينَ، الْمُشْتَاقِينَ الْعَارِفِينَ، الْعَالِمِينَ الْمُوقِنِينَ؟

Yā ʾakhī, ʾamā ʾāna laka ʾan tamalla wa-tashbaʿa mina al-kadhibi, wa-al-ightirāri bi-Allāhi taʿālā? ʾAmā ʾāna laka ʾan tuḥibba ʾan yakūna ismuka yawman wāḥidan min jamīʿi ʿumrika maʿa ʾasmāʾi al-ṣāliḥīna al-mutawāḍiʿīna, al-mukhliṣīna al-munāṣiḥīna, al-shākirīna al-rāḍīna, al-ṣābirīna al-muslimīna, al-wāthiqīna al-mutawakkilīna, al-mufawwiḍīna al-khāʾifīna, al-mushtāqīna al-ʿārifīna, al-ʿālimīna al-mūqinīna?

My brother, is it not time you grew weary of lying and had your fill of being deluded about God Most High? Is it not time you wanted your name, for a single day in your entire life, to stand among the names of the righteous and humble, the sincere and well-wishing, the grateful and content, the patient and submissive, the confident and trusting, those who entrust their affairs to God and fear Him, those who long for Him and know Him, those who have knowledge and certainty?

بِحَقٍّ أَقُولُ لَكَ، لَوْ مَاتَ أَحَدٌ مِنَ الْعَجَبِ كَانَ يَنْبَغِي لَكَ أَنْ تَمُوتَ مَكَانَكَ إِذَا نَظَرْتَ فِيمَا أَنْتَ فِيهِ مِنْ إِيثَارِكَ لِلدُّنْيَا، وَإِقْبَالِكَ عَلَيْهَا، مَعَ اسْتِيقَانِكَ بِأَنَّهَا لَا شَيْءَ، وَرِضَاكَ بِتَرْكِ طَرِيقِ الصَّالِحِينَ، وَأَهْلِ الْخَيْرِ، وَصُحْبَةِ مُحَمَّدٍ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، وَمُجَاوَرَتِهِ فِي الْجَنَّةِ.

Biḥaqqin ʾaqūlu laka, law māta ʾaḥadun mina al-ʿajabi kāna yanbaghī laka ʾan tamūta makānaka ʾidhā naẓarta fīmā ʾanta fīhi min ʾīthārika li-al-dunyā, wa-ʾiqbālika ʿalayhā, maʿa istīqānika bi-ʾannahā lā shayʾa, wa-riḍāka bitarki ṭarīqi al-ṣāliḥīna, wa-ʾahli al-khayri, wa-ṣuḥbati Muḥammadin ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama, wa-mujāwaratihi fī al-jannati.

Truly I tell you: if anyone could die of astonishment, you should die where you stand when you consider your preference for this world and your devotion to it, although you are certain that it is nothing, and your willingness to abandon the path of the righteous and good, the company of Muḥammad, may God bless him and grant him peace, and a place beside him in Paradise.

فَلَوْ كَانَتْ صُحْبَتُهُ فِي الدُّنْيَا، ثُمَّ تَرَكْتَ الدُّنْيَا كُلَّهَا، وَآثَرْتَ صُحْبَتَهُ، لَكَانَ الَّذِي تَرَكْتَ حَقِيرًا عِنْدَ الَّذِي نِلْتَ، فَكَيْفَ الصُّحْبَةُ فِي الْجَنَّةِ، مَعَ دَوَامِ الْمُلْكِ فِي جِوَارِ اللَّهِ، وَجِوَارِ أَحْبَابِهِ، مَعَ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِمْ مِنَ النَّبِيِّينَ وَالصِّدِّيقِينَ وَالشُّهَدَاءِ وَالصَّالِحِينَ وَحَسُنَ أُولٰئِكَ رَفِيقًا، فِي الْحَبْرَةِ وَالنِّعْمَةِ وَالسُّرُورِ الدَّائِمِ الْأَبَدِيِّ؟

Fa-law kānat ṣuḥbatuhu fī al-dunyā, thumma tarakta al-dunyā kullahā, wa-ʾātharta ṣuḥbatahu, lakāna alladhī tarakta ḥaqīran ʿinda alladhī nilta, fa-kayfa al-ṣuḥbatu fī al-jannati, maʿa dawāmi al-mulki fī jiwāri Allāhi, wa-jiwāri ʾaḥbābihi, maʿa alladhīna ʾanʿama Allāhu ʿalayhim mina al-nabiyyīna wa-al-ṣiddīqīna wa-al-shuhadāʾi wa-al-ṣāliḥīna wa-ḥasuna ʾulāʾika rafīqan, fī al-ḥabrati wa-al-niʿmati wa-al-surūri al-dāʾimi al-ʾabadiyyi?

If his company were available in this world and you left the entire world to choose his company, what you left would be insignificant beside what you gained. How much more his company in Paradise, with enduring sovereignty in God's presence and beside His beloved ones, among those whom God has blessed, the prophets, the utterly truthful, the martyrs, and the righteous, excellent companions indeed, in delight, blessing, and everlasting joy?

فَرَاجِعْ نَفْسَكَ يَا أَخِي، وَانْظُرْ مَا فِي هٰذِهِ الْمُخَادَعَةِ، وَمَا الَّذِي غَلَبَكَ، وَغَلَبَ يَقِينَكَ، أَوْ مَا هٰذِهِ الْخُدْعَةُ الَّتِي دَخَلَتْ عَلَيْكَ؟

Fa-rājiʿ nafsaka yā ʾakhī, wa-unẓur mā fī hādhihi al-mukhādaʿati, wa-mā alladhī ghalabaka, wa-ghalaba yaqīnaka, ʾaw mā hādhihi al-khudʿatu allatī dakhalat ʿalayka?

So reconsider your self, my brother. Examine this deception. What has overcome you and your certainty? What is this trick that has taken hold of you?

وَفَكِّرْ فِيمَا تَصِيرُ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ مُوَازَنَةِ عَمَلِكَ، وَسُؤَالِ اللَّهِ إِيَّاكَ عَنْ مَثَاقِيلِ الذَّرِّ وَالْخَرْدَلِ، وَمَا فَوْقَ ذٰلِكَ، وَدُونَ ذٰلِكَ.

Wa-fakkir fīmā taṣīru ʾilayhi min muwāzanati ʿamalika, wa-suʾāli Allāhi ʾiyyāka ʿan mathāqīli al-dharri wa-al-khardali, wa-mā fawqa dhālika, wa-dūna dhālika.

Reflect on what awaits you: the weighing of your deeds and God's questioning you about particles' and mustard seeds' weights, and what is greater or less than that.

وَفَكِّرْ فِي سُرْعَةِ انْقِضَاءِ الْأَجَلِ، وَعَلَيْكَ بِقِصَرِ الْأَمَلِ، فَلَا تُفَارِقْهُ وَلَا يُفَارِقْكَ طَرْفَةَ عَيْنٍ، لَا فِي لَيْلٍ وَلَا فِي نَهَارٍ.

Wa-fakkir fī surʿati inqiḍāʾi al-ʾajali, wa-ʿalayka biqiṣari al-ʾamali, fa-lā tufāriqhu wa-lā yufāriqka ṭarfata ʿaynin, lā fī laylin wa-lā fī nahārin.

Reflect on how swiftly your allotted time ends. Keep your hopes short: do not leave this attitude, nor let it leave you for the blink of an eye, by night or day.

Source page 99

يَا سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ! كَيْفَ لَا تَدْهَشُ وَلَا يَذْهَبُ عَقْلُكَ تَعَجُّبًا مِنْ أَمْرِكَ؟

Yā subḥāna Allāhi! Kayfa lā tad-hashu wa-lā yadh-habu ʿaqluka taʿajjuban min ʾamrika?

Glory be to God! How are you not stunned, your mind overwhelmed with astonishment at your own condition?

فَرَاجِعْ أَمْرَكَ، وَانْظُرْ مَا يُرَادُ مِنْكَ، فَإِنَّمَا يُرَادُ مِنْكَ إِذَا عَمِلْتَ عَمَلًا أَنْ تُرِيدَ بِهِ وَجْهَ اللَّهِ أَوْ لَا تَعْمَلَهُ. فَهَلْ تَكُونُ أَقَلَّ مِنْ هٰذَا؟ هٰذَا فِي نَوَافِلِكَ.

Fa-rājiʿ ʾamraka, wa-unẓur mā yurādu minka, fa-ʾinnamā yurādu minka ʾidhā ʿamilta ʿamalan ʾan turīda bihi wajha Allāhi ʾaw lā taʿmalahu. Fa-hal takūnu ʾaqalla min hādhā? Hādhā fī nawāfilika.

Reconsider your condition and look at what is asked of you. All that is asked, when you do a deed, is that you seek God's face through it, or else not do it. Can you fall short even of this? This concerns your voluntary deeds.

وَأَمَّا فَرَائِضُكَ فَإِنَّكَ غَيْرُ مَعْذُورٍ فِي تَضْيِيعِ مِثْقَالِ ذَرَّةٍ مِنْهَا، حَتَّى تَعْمَلَ بِمَا أُمِرْتَ بِهِ، وَتَنْتَهِيَ عَمَّا نُهِيتَ عَنْهُ. وَمَا كُلِّفْتَ أَمْرًا لَا تُطِيعُهُ، وَمَا كُلِّفْتَ مَا لَمْ يُكَلَّفْ بِهِ غَيْرُكَ.

Wa-ʾammā farāʾiḍuka fa-ʾinnaka ghayru maʿdhūrin fī taḍyīʿi mithqāli dharratin minhā, ḥattā taʿmala bimā ʾumirta bihi, wa-tantahiya ʿammā nuhīta ʿanhu. Wa-mā kullifta ʾamran lā tuṭīʿuhu, wa-mā kullifta mā lam yukallaf bihi ghayruka.

As for your obligations, you have no excuse for neglecting a particle's weight of them: you must do what you have been commanded and refrain from what you have been forbidden. You have not been charged with something you cannot obey, or with something not required of others.

وَيُرَادُ مِنْكَ مَعَ ذٰلِكَ: أَنْ تُرِيدَ لِلنَّاسِ الْخَيْرَ، وَإِنْ لَمْ تُرِدْ لَهُمُ الْخَيْرَ فَلَا تُرِدْ لَهُمُ الشَّرَّ. فَهَلْ تَكُونُ أَقَلَّ مِنْ هٰذَا؟ أَوْ تَرْضَى لِنَفْسِكَ أَنَّ النَّاسَ يُرِيدُونَ لَكَ الْخَيْرَ، وَأَنْتَ تُرِيدُ لَهُمُ الشَّرَّ؟

Wa-yurādu minka maʿa dhālika: ʾan turīda li-al-nāsi al-khayra, wa-ʾin lam turid lahumu al-khayra fa-lā turid lahumu al-sharra. Fa-hal takūnu ʾaqalla min hādhā? ʾAw tarḍā linafsika ʾanna al-nāsa yurīdūna laka al-khayra, wa-ʾanta turīdu lahumu al-sharra?

You are also asked to wish people well. If you do not wish them well, do not wish them evil. Can you fall short even of this? Would you be content for people to wish you good while you wish them evil?

وَيُرَادُ مِنْكَ: أَلَّا تَجْعَلَ نَفْسَكَ فَوْقَ النَّاسِ فِي نَفْسِكَ، لَا بِقَلْبِكَ وَلَا بِلِسَانِكَ. أَفَتَكُونُ أَقَلَّ مِنْ هٰذَا؟ وَقَدْ دُعِيتَ أَنْتَ وَالنَّاسُ إِلَى هٰذَا، لَا أَنْتَ وَحْدَكَ.

Wa-yurādu minka: ʾallā tajʿala nafsaka fawqa al-nāsi fī nafsika, lā biqalbika wa-lā bilisānika. ʾAfatakūnu ʾaqalla min hādhā? Wa-qad duʿīta ʾanta wa-al-nāsu ʾilā hādhā, lā ʾanta waḥdaka.

You are asked not to set yourself above other people in your own estimation, whether in your heart or on your tongue. Will you fall short even of this? You and everyone else have been called to this, not you alone.

الْمُخَادِعُونَ، الْمُتَاجِرُونَ بِالدِّينِ

Al-mukhādiʿūna, al-mutājirūna bi-al-dīni

Deceivers who trade in religion

وَقَالَ: أَخْبِرْنِي، إِنْ أَنْتَ خَالَفْتَ هٰذَا الْأَمْرَ، وَأَرَدْتَ بِعَمَلِكَ غَيْرَ اللَّهِ، وَأَرَدْتَ أَنْ تَرْفَعَ نَفْسَكَ فَوْقَ النَّاسِ، أَوْ لَمْ تُحِبَّ لَهُمْ مَا تُحِبُّ لِنَفْسِكَ، أَتُدْرِكُ أَوْ تَنَالُ مَا تَأْمُلُ مِنْ ذٰلِكَ؟

Wa-qāla: ʾakhbirnī, ʾin ʾanta khālafta hādhā al-ʾamra, wa-ʾaradta biʿamalika ghayra Allāhi, wa-ʾaradta ʾan tarfaʿa nafsaka fawqa al-nāsi, ʾaw lam tuḥibba lahum mā tuḥibbu linafsika, ʾatudriku ʾaw tanālu mā taʾmulu min dhālika?

He said: tell me, if you go against this, intend someone other than God through your deeds, wish to raise yourself above people, or fail to love for them what you love for yourself, will you attain or obtain what you hope for through this?

أَوَلَسْتَ تَعْلَمُ أَنَّكَ أَبْعَدُ مَا تَكُونُ مِنَ اللَّهِ إِذَا كُنْتَ كَذٰلِكَ؟

ʾAwalasta taʿlamu ʾannaka ʾabʿadu mā takūnu mina Allāhi ʾidhā kunta ka-dhālika?

Do you not know that you are farthest from God when you are like that?

وَمَعَ هٰذَا لَا أَرَاكَ تَطْلُبُ الدَّنَانِيرَ وَالدَّرَاهِمَ فَتَنْتَفِعَ بِهَا، وَتَرْفُقَ بِهَا فِي أَيَّامِكَ هٰذِهِ، وَإِنَّمَا تَطْلُبُ بِذٰلِكَ الثَّنَاءَ وَالْجَاهَ وَالْقَدْرَ. وَقَدِ اخْتَرْتَ سِيرَةً تَسْتَوْجِبُ بِهَا الْبُغْضَ مِنْ خَالِقِكَ، وَتَسْتَوْجِبُ الْبُغْضَ أَيْضًا مِمَّنْ وَافَقَكَ عَلَيْهَا لَوْ ظَهَرَ مِنْ أَمْرِكَ مَا خَفِيَ، وَلَا بُدَّ مِنْ أَنْ يَظْهَرَ يَوْمًا مَا.

Wa-maʿa hādhā lā ʾarāka taṭlubu al-danānīra wa-al-darāhima fa-tantafiʿa bihā, wa-tarfuqa bihā fī ʾayyāmika hādhihi, wa-ʾinnamā taṭlubu bi-dhālika al-thanāʾa wa-al-jāha wa-al-qadra. Wa-qadi ikhtarta sīratan tastawjibu bihā al-bughḍa min khāliqika, wa-tastawjibu al-bughḍa ʾayḍan mimman wāfaqaka ʿalayhā law ẓahara min ʾamrika mā khafiya, wa-lā budda min ʾan yaẓhara yawman mā.

Moreover, I do not see you seeking dinars and dirhams to benefit from and make these days of yours easier. You seek only praise, standing, and esteem. Yet you have chosen conduct that earns your Creator's hatred, and would earn the hatred even of those who approved it if what you conceal became apparent. One day it must become apparent.

وَقَالَ: الصَّبْرُ مَا تَرَكَ النَّاسَ عُذْرًا وَلَا حُجَّةً. فَمَنْ لَمْ يَلْقَ اللَّهَ بِمَا أَمَرَهُ بِحَلَاوَةِ الرِّضَا، فَلْيَلْقَهُ بِالصَّبْرِ، وَكَرَاهَتِهِ، وَمَنْ لَمْ يَلْقَ اللَّهَ بِبُغْضِ مَا نَهَاهُ عَنْهُ، فَلَا يَلْقَاهُ بِالْحُبِّ لَهُ، بَلْ بِالصَّبْرِ، فَمَا تَرَكَ الصَّبْرُ لِلنَّاسِ حُجَّةً.

Wa-qāla: al-ṣabru mā taraka al-nāsa ʿudhran wa-lā ḥujjatan. Fa-man lam yalqa Allāha bimā ʾamarahu biḥalāwati al-riḍā, fa-l-yalqahu bi-al-ṣabri, wa-karāhatihi, wa-man lam yalqa Allāha bibughḍi mā nahāhu ʿanhu, fa-lā yalqāhu bi-al-ḥubbi lahu, bal bi-al-ṣabri, fa-mā taraka al-ṣabru li-al-nāsi ḥujjatan.

He said: patience leaves people neither excuse nor argument. Whoever cannot meet God with what He commanded in the sweetness of contentment should meet Him with patience despite his aversion. Whoever cannot meet God hating what He forbade should not meet Him loving it, but should endure patiently. Patience leaves people no argument.

Source page 100

وَقَالَ: مِنَ الْقَلِيلِ مَا يُعْتَبَرُ بِهِ الْكَثِيرُ. وَإِنَّ أَهْلَ الدُّنْيَا إِذَا أَرَادُوا أَنْ يَعْمَلُوا شَيْئًا بَدَأُوا بِالطَّلَبِ، فَطَلَبُوا أَدَاةَ مَا يُعْمَلُ بِهِ ذٰلِكَ الْعَمَلُ، وَإِلَّا فَلَا سَبِيلَ لَهُمْ إِلَى ذٰلِكَ الْعَمَلِ الْبَتَّةَ.

Wa-qāla: mina al-qalīli mā yuʿtabaru bihi al-kathīru. Wa-ʾinna ʾahla al-dunyā ʾidhā ʾarādū ʾan yaʿmalū shayʾan badaʾū bi-al-ṭalabi, fa-ṭalabū ʾadāta mā yuʿmalu bihi dhālika al-ʿamalu, wa-ʾillā fa-lā sabīla lahum ʾilā dhālika al-ʿamali al-battata.

He said: something small can teach a lesson about much. When worldly people wish to do something, they begin by seeking what they need. They seek the equipment with which that work is done; otherwise, there is no way for them to do it at all.

وَلَوِ اجْتَمَعَ أَهْلُ الدُّنْيَا كُلُّهُمْ، وَمَعَهُمْ أَدَاةُ كُلِّ صِنَاعَةٍ، هَلْ قَدَرُوا أَنْ يَثْقُبُوا إِبْرَةً إِلَّا بِأَدَاتِهَا الَّتِي هِيَ أَدَاتُهَا؟ وَهٰكَذَا جَمِيعُ الْأَشْيَاءِ.

Wa-lawi ijtamaʿa ʾahlu al-dunyā kulluhum, wa-maʿahum ʾadātu kulli ṣināʿatin, hal qadarū ʾan yathqubū ʾibratan ʾillā bi-ʾadātihā allatī hiya ʾadātuhā? Wa-hākadhā jamīʿu al-ʾashyāʾi.

If all the world's people gathered with the tools of every craft, could they bore a needle's eye except with its own proper tool? So it is with everything.

هَلْ رَأَيْتَ بَيْطَارًا قَطُّ قَدَرَ عَلَى صِنَاعَتِهِ بِأَدَاةِ خَيَّاطٍ؟

Hal raʾayta bayṭāran qaṭṭu qadara ʿalā ṣināʿatihi bi-ʾadāti khayyāṭin?

Have you ever seen a farrier able to practice his craft with a tailor's tools?

أَوْ قَدَرَ الْخَيَّاطُ عَلَى صِنَاعَتِهِ بِأَدَاةِ الْبَيْطَارِ؟

ʾAw qadara al-khayyāṭu ʿalā ṣināʿatihi bi-ʾadāti al-bayṭāri?

Or a tailor able to practice his craft with a farrier's tools?

وَهٰكَذَا كُلُّ عَمَلٍ، لَا يَقْدِرُ الْحَدَّادُ عَلَى عَمَلِهِ بِأَدَاةِ النَّجَّارِ، وَلَا النَّجَّارُ بِأَدَاةِ الْإِسْكَافِ.

Wa-hākadhā kullu ʿamalin, lā yaqdiru al-ḥaddādu ʿalā ʿamalihi bi-ʾadāti al-najjāri, wa-lā al-najjāru bi-ʾadāti al-ʾiskāfi.

So it is with every kind of work. A blacksmith cannot do his work with a carpenter's tools, nor a carpenter with a shoemaker's.

وَهٰكَذَا أَعْمَالُ الْآخِرَةِ، لَا يَقْدِرُ عَلَيْهَا إِلَّا بِأَدَاتِهَا. وَأَصْلُ أَدَاةِ أَعْمَالِ الْآخِرَةِ: الْعِلْمُ وَالْمَعْرِفَةُ وَالِاعْتِبَارُ، فَإِنَّهَا مِنْ دَلَالَاتِ الْأَدَاةِ.

Wa-hākadhā ʾaʿmālu al-ʾākhirati, lā yaqdiru ʿalayhā ʾillā bi-ʾadātihā. Wa-ʾaṣlu ʾadāti ʾaʿmāli al-ʾākhirati: al-ʿilmu wa-al-maʿrifatu wa-al-iʿtibāru, fa-ʾinnahā min dalālāti al-ʾadāti.

So it is with deeds for the next life: one can perform them only with their proper tools. The foundation of their equipment is knowledge, recognition, and reflection, for these point to the tools one needs.

حُبُّ الدُّنْيَا رَأْسُ كُلِّ بَلَاءٍ

Ḥubbu al-dunyā raʾsu kulli balāʾin

Love of this world is the source of every affliction

وَيُرْوَى عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «حُبُّكَ الشَّيْءَ يُعْمِي وَيُصِمُّ».

Wa-yurwā ʿani al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama: «ḥubbuka al-shayʾa yuʿmī wa-yuṣimmu».

It is related from the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace: “Your love for a thing blinds and deafens you.”

وَيُرْوَى عَنْ عِيسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ أَنَّهُ قَالَ: «حُبُّ الدُّنْيَا رَأْسُ كُلِّ خَطِيئَةٍ».

Wa-yurwā ʿan ʿĪsā ʿalayhi al-salāmu ʾannahu qāla: «ḥubbu al-dunyā raʾsu kulli khaṭīʾatin».

It is related that Jesus, peace be upon him, said: “Love of this world is the source of every sin.”

وَأَنْفَعُ مَا عَالَجَ بِهِ الْمُؤْمِنُ فِي أَمْرِ دِينِهِ: قَطْعُ حُبِّ الدُّنْيَا مِنْ قَلْبِهِ، فَإِذَا فَعَلَ ذٰلِكَ هَانَ عَلَيْهِ تَرْكُ الدُّنْيَا، وَسَهُلَ عَلَيْهِ طَلَبُ الْآخِرَةِ. وَلَا يَقْدِرُ عَلَى قَطْعِهِ إِلَّا بِأَدَاتِهِ.

Wa-ʾanfaʿu mā ʿālaja bihi al-muʾminu fī ʾamri dīnihi: qaṭʿu ḥubbi al-dunyā min qalbihi, fa-ʾidhā faʿala dhālika hāna ʿalayhi tarku al-dunyā, wa-sahula ʿalayhi ṭalabu al-ʾākhirati. Wa-lā yaqdiru ʿalā qaṭʿihi ʾillā bi-ʾadātihi.

The most beneficial remedy a believer can apply to his religious life is to cut love of this world out of his heart. When he does so, relinquishing the world and seeking the next life become easy for him. Yet he cannot cut it out without the proper tools.

أَمَا إِنِّي لَا أَقُولُ: أَدَاتُهُ الْفَقْرُ، وَقِلَّةُ الشَّيْءِ، وَكَثْرَةُ الصِّيَامِ وَالصَّلَاةِ وَالْحَجِّ وَالْجِهَادِ، وَلٰكِنْ أَصْلُ أَدَاتِهِ: الْفِكْرُ، وَقِصَرُ الْأَمَلِ، وَمُرَاجَعَةُ التَّوْبَةِ وَالطَّهَارَةِ، وَإِخْرَاجُ الْعِزِّ مِنَ الْقَلْبِ، وَلُزُومُ التَّوَاضُعِ، وَعِمَارَةُ الْقَلْبِ بِالتَّقْوَى، وَإِدَامَةُ الْحُزْنِ، وَكَثْرَةُ الْهَمِّ بِمَا هُوَ وَارِدٌ عَلَيْهِ.

ʾAmā ʾinnī lā ʾaqūlu: ʾadātuhu al-faqru, wa-qillatu al-shayʾi, wa-kathratu al-ṣiyāmi wa-al-ṣalāti wa-al-ḥajji wa-al-jihādi, wa-lākin ʾaṣlu ʾadātihi: al-fikru, wa-qiṣaru al-ʾamali, wa-murājaʿatu al-tawbati wa-al-ṭahārati, wa-ʾikhrāju al-ʿizzi mina al-qalbi, wa-luzūmu al-tawāḍuʿi, wa-ʿimāratu al-qalbi bi-al-taqwā, wa-ʾidāmatu al-ḥuzni, wa-kathratu al-hammi bimā huwa wāridun ʿalayhi.

I do not say that these tools are poverty, having little, or much fasting, prayer, pilgrimage, and struggle. Their foundation is reflection, keeping hopes short, renewing repentance and purification, removing self-importance from the heart, holding fast to humility, cultivating the heart through reverence for God, sustained sorrow, and much concern over what is coming to him.

Source pages 100–101

وَمَا أَكْثَرَ مَنْ يَعْمَلُ هٰذِهِ الْأَعْمَالَ الَّتِي وَصَفْنَا وَحُبُّ الدُّنْيَا فِي قَلْبِهِ زَائِدَةٌ، وَكَثِيرٌ مِنَ النَّاسِ مَنْ لَا يُكْثِرُ مِنْ هٰذِهِ الْأَعْمَالِ وَحُبُّهُ لِلدُّنْيَا فِي نَقْصٍ، لِأَنَّهُ أَخَذَهُ مِنْ وِجْهَةٍ: أَنْ يُلْزِمَ نَفْسَهُ الْفِكْرَ، وَيَقْصُرَ عَلَيْهِ مِنَ الْأَمَلِ،

Wa-mā ʾakthara man yaʿmalu hādhihi al-ʾaʿmāla allatī waṣafnā wa-ḥubbu al-dunyā fī qalbihi zāʾidatun, wa-kathīrun mina al-nāsi man lā yukthiru min hādhihi al-ʾaʿmāli wa-ḥubbuhu li-al-dunyā fī naqṣin, li-ʾannahu ʾakhadhahu min wijhatin: ʾan yulzima nafsahu al-fikra, wa-yaqṣura ʿalayhi mina al-ʾamali,

How many perform the deeds we have described while love of this world grows in their hearts! Many others do not perform so many of them, yet their love of this world diminishes because they approach the matter in this way: they require their selves to reflect and restrict their hopes.

Source page 101

وَلٰكِنِ الْأَشْيَاءُ مِنْ حَيْثُ أَبَاحَهَا اللَّهُ، فَيَضَعُهَا حَيْثُ أَمَرَهُ اللَّهُ،

wa-lākini al-ʾashyāʾu min ḥaythu ʾabāḥahā Allāhu, fa-yaḍaʿuhā ḥaythu ʾamarahu Allāhu,

As for things, [they take them] where God has permitted them and place them where He has commanded [the printed construction is elliptical].

وَيُلْزِمُ قَلْبَهُ ذِكْرَ قُرْبِ مُفَارَقَتِهَا، وَمُفَارَقَةِ مَا فِيهِ وَمَا يَصِيرُ إِلَيْهِ مِنَ الشَّدَائِدِ، مِنَ الْقَبْرِ، وَالْوُقُوفِ بَيْنَ أَيْدِي اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، وَطُولِ الْحِسَابِ، وَلَا يَدْرِي فِي أَيِّ الصِّنْفَيْنِ عَدَدُهُ، وَلَا فِي أَيِّ الزُّمْرَتَيْنِ اسْمُهُ، أَفِي الَّذِينَ يُحْشَرُونَ إِلَى الْجَنَّةِ زُمَرًا، أَمْ فِي الَّذِينَ يُحْشَرُونَ إِلَى جَهَنَّمَ وِرْدًا.

wa-yulzimu qalbahu dhikra qurbi mufāraqatihā, wa-mufāraqati mā fīhi wa-mā yaṣīru ʾilayhi mina al-shadāʾidi, mina al-qabri, wa-al-wuqūfi bayna ʾaydī Allāhi ʿazza wa-jalla, wa-ṭūli al-ḥisābi, wa-lā yadrī fī ʾayyi al-ṣinfayni ʿadaduhu, wa-lā fī ʾayyi al-zumratayni ismuhu, ʾafī alladhīna yuḥsharūna ʾilā al-jannati zumaran, ʾam fī alladhīna yuḥsharūna ʾilā jahannama wirdan.

They require their hearts to remember how soon they will leave those things and their present condition, and the hardships awaiting them: the grave, standing before God, mighty and majestic, and the long reckoning. They do not know in which of the two classes they are numbered, or in which of the two groups their names belong: those gathered in companies to Paradise, or those driven thirsty to Hell.

وَتَفَكَّرَ فِي ذُنُوبِهِ الَّتِي لَوْ أُخِذَ أَهْلُ الدُّنْيَا بِذَنْبٍ مِنْهَا لَهَلَكُوا، وَطُولِ خُلُودِ أَهْلِ النَّارِ فِي النَّارِ. وَأَشَدُّ مِنْ ذٰلِكَ غَضَبُ اللَّهِ عَلَى أَهْلِ النَّارِ. وَلِمَا يَخَافُ أَنْ يَفُوتَهُ مِنْ رِضَى اللَّهِ عَنْ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ.

Wa-tafakkara fī dhunūbihi allatī law ʾukhidha ʾahlu al-dunyā bidhanbin minhā lahalakū, wa-ṭūli khulūdi ʾahli al-nāri fī al-nāri. Wa-ʾashaddu min dhālika ghaḍabu Allāhi ʿalā ʾahli al-nāri. Wa-limā yakhāfu ʾan yafūtahu min riḍā Allāhi ʿan ʾahli al-jannati.

He reflects on his sins, a single one of which would destroy the world's people if they were called to account for it, and on the endless stay of the people of the Fire within it. More terrible still is God's anger against them. He also fears missing God's pleasure with the people of Paradise.

وَيُقِلُّ الْفِكْرَ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَفِي نَعِيمِهَا. فَإِنَّ الْقَلْبَ مَعَ الْفِكْرِ يَحْيَا إِنْ كَانَتِ الْفِكْرَةُ فِي الْآخِرَةِ، وَيَمُوتُ إِنْ كَانَتِ الْفِكْرَةُ فِي الدُّنْيَا.

Wa-yuqillu al-fikra fī al-dunyā wa-fī naʿīmihā. Fa-ʾinna al-qalba maʿa al-fikri yaḥyā ʾin kānati al-fikratu fī al-ʾākhirati, wa-yamūtu ʾin kānati al-fikratu fī al-dunyā.

He thinks little about this world and its pleasures. The heart lives through reflection when its thought concerns the next life, and dies when its thought concerns this world.

وَقَالَ: وَمَا عَلَى الْعَبْدِ أَنْ يَعْزِمَ عَلَى أَنْ يَجْعَلَ حَظَّهُ مِنْ بَقِيَّةِ عُمْرِهِ فِي الدُّنْيَا مَا كَانَ مِنْ جَاهٍ أَوْ ثَنَاءٍ أَوْ مَحْمَدَةٍ مِنَ النَّاسِ أَوْ قَدْرٍ عِنْدَهُمْ، وَمَا كَانَ مِنْ فُضُولِ النِّعْمَةِ فِيهَا، يَعْزِمُ عَلَى أَنْ يَجْعَلَ ذٰلِكَ كُلَّهُ لِأَعْدَى عَدُوٍّ لَهُ، وَلِأَحْسَدِ حَاسِدٍ لَهُ، لَا يَقْسِمُ عَلَى أَقَارِبِهِ وَأَصْدِقَائِهِ مِنْهَا شَيْئًا، بَعْدَ أَنْ يَرْجُوَ أَنْ يَكُونَ ذٰلِكَ كُلُّهُ فِكَاكَهُ مِنَ النَّارِ،

Wa-qāla: wa-mā ʿalā al-ʿabdi ʾan yaʿzima ʿalā ʾan yajʿala ḥaẓẓahu min baqiyyati ʿumrihi fī al-dunyā mā kāna min jāhin ʾaw thanāʾin ʾaw maḥmadatin mina al-nāsi ʾaw qadrin ʿindahum, wa-mā kāna min fuḍūli al-niʿmati fīhā, yaʿzimu ʿalā ʾan yajʿala dhālika kullahu li-ʾaʿdā ʿaduwwin lahu, wa-li-ʾaḥsadi ḥāsidin lahu, lā yaqsimu ʿalā ʾaqāribihi wa-ʾaṣdiqāʾihi minhā shayʾan, baʿda ʾan yarjuwa ʾan yakūna dhālika kulluhu fikākahu mina al-nāri,

He said: what harm would it do the servant to resolve that his share, during the rest of his worldly life, of standing, praise, commendation, esteem among people, and superfluous comforts should all go to his bitterest enemy and most envious rival? Let him resolve to assign it all to them, with none distributed among his own relatives and friends, hoping that surrendering all this will ransom him from the Fire.

حَتَّى لَوْ دُعِيَ إِلَيْهِ، وَحُبِسَ فِي الْحَبْسِ الضَّيِّقِ لِيَقْبَلَهُ لَمْ يَقْبَلْهُ، وَاخْتَارَ الْحَبْسَ عَلَيْهِ، وَلَحَذِرَهُ وَنَفَرَ مِنْهُ، كَمَا كَانَ يَطْلُبُهُ قَبْلَ ذٰلِكَ.

ḥattā law duʿiya ʾilayhi, wa-ḥubisa fī al-ḥabsi al-ḍayyiqi liyaqbalahu lam yaqbalhu, wa-ikhtāra al-ḥabsa ʿalayhi, wa-laḥadhirahu wa-nafara minhu, kamā kāna yaṭlubuhu qabla dhālika.

Even if he were invited to accept it and confined in a narrow prison until he did, he would refuse and choose prison instead. He would beware of it and flee from it as eagerly as he once pursued it.

فَلَعَمْرِي لَوْ لَمْ يَكُنْ فِيهِ إِلَّا مَا يَرْجُو أَنْ يُدْرِكَ بِهِ صَلَاحَ مَا أَفْسَدَ فِيمَا مَضَى مِنْ عُمْرِهِ فَلْيُصْلِحْهُ، وَلْيَتَخَلَّصْ مِمَّا مَضَى، وَيَجْعَلِ الْحُزْنَ وَالْهَمَّ وَقِلَّةَ مُلَاقَاةِ النَّاسِ عُدَّةً لَهُ، مَعَ الدُّعَاءِ وَالتَّضَرُّعِ، وَيَجْعَلِ الْمَوْتَ نُصْبَ عَيْنَيْهِ، وَيَسْتَعِينُ بِسُرْعَةِ الْخُرُوجِ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا،

Fa-laʿamrī law lam yakun fīhi ʾillā mā yarjū ʾan yudrika bihi ṣalāḥa mā ʾafsada fīmā maḍā min ʿumrihi fa-l-yuṣliḥhu, wa-l-yatakhallaṣ mimmā maḍā, wa-yajʿali al-ḥuzna wa-al-hamma wa-qillata mulāqāti al-nāsi ʿuddatan lahu, maʿa al-duʿāʾi wa-al-taḍarruʿi, wa-yajʿali al-mawta nuṣba ʿaynayhi, wa-yastaʿīnu bisurʿati al-khurūji mina al-dunyā,

By my life, even if its only benefit were the hope of repairing what he has corrupted in his past life, let him repair it and free himself from what has passed. Let sorrow, concern, and meeting people less often be his provision, together with prayer and humble pleading. Let him keep death before his eyes and draw strength from the swiftness of his departure from this world.

فَمَا أَهْوَنَ (عِنْدَ) مَنْ نَزَلَ مَنْزِلًا وَهُوَ يُرِيدُ الِارْتِحَالَ مِنْهُ تَرْكَهُ لِجَارِهِ، وَمَا أَقَلَّ شَفَقَتَهُ عَلَيْهِ، وَمَا أَشْفَقَ مَنْ نَزَلَ مَنْزِلًا وَهُوَ يُرِيدُ الْمَقَامَ فِيهِ، وَأَحْرَصَ عَلَى عِمَارَتِهِ.

fa-mā ʾahwana (ʿinda) man nazala manzilan wa-huwa yurīdu al-irtiḥāla minhu tarkahu lijārihi, wa-mā ʾaqalla shafaqatahu ʿalayhi, wa-mā ʾashfaqa man nazala manzilan wa-huwa yurīdu al-maqāma fīhi, wa-ʾaḥraṣa ʿalā ʿimāratihi.

How easy it is (for) someone who occupies a dwelling intending to leave it to surrender it to his neighbor, and how little he worries over it! How anxious, and how eager to maintain it, is someone who occupies a dwelling intending to remain!

جِمَاعُ صَلَاحِ النُّفُوسِ

Jimāʿu ṣalāḥi al-nufūsi

The essentials of setting selves right

Source pages 101–102

وَقَالَ: إِنَّ النَّاسِكَ إِنْ لَمْ يَقْبَلِ الْحِكْمَةَ وَلَا الْمَوْعِظَةَ وَلَا النَّصِيحَةَ مِنَ الْعَدُوِّ وَالصَّدِيقِ، وَالسَّفِيهِ وَالْحَلِيمِ، فَنُسُكُهُ نُسُكُ الْمُلُوكِ.

Wa-qāla: ʾinna al-nāsika ʾin lam yaqbali al-ḥikmata wa-lā al-mawʿiẓata wa-lā al-naṣīḥata mina al-ʿaduwwi wa-al-ṣadīqi, wa-al-safīhi wa-al-ḥalīmi, fa-nusukuhu nusuku al-mulūki.

He said: if a devotee will not accept wisdom, admonition, or counsel from enemy and friend, the foolish and the forbearing alike, his devotion is the devotion of kings.

Source page 102

قُلْتُ: ذَكَرْتَ شَيْئًا يُنْسِي شَيْئًا، فَمِثْلُ أَيِّ شَيْءٍ هٰذَا مِنَ الْأَشْيَاءِ؟

Qultu: dhakarta shayʾan yunsī shayʾan, fa-mithlu ʾayyi shayʾin hādhā mina al-ʾashyāʾi?

I asked, “You mentioned one thing making another forgotten. What sort of thing is this?”

قَالَ: مِثْلُ الشِّبَعِ، فَإِنَّهُ يُهَيِّجُ الشَّهْوَةَ، وَيُورِثُ الْقَسْوَةَ، وَالْبَطَرَ، وَالثِّقَلَ وَالنَّوْمَ.

Qāla: mithlu al-shibaʿi, fa-ʾinnahu yuhayyiju al-shahwata, wa-yūrithu al-qaswata, wa-al-baṭara, wa-al-thiqala wa-al-nawma.

He replied, “Being full, for example: it stirs desire and produces hardness of heart, arrogance, heaviness, and sleep.”

وَمِثْلُ كَثْرَةِ الْكَلَامِ، فَإِنَّهُ يُقَسِّي الْقَلْبَ، وَيُقِلُّ الْبَهَاءَ وَالْمَهَابَةَ، وَيُعْقِمُ الْحِكْمَةَ، وَيُكْثِرُ السَّقَطَ.

Wa-mithlu kathrati al-kalāmi, fa-ʾinnahu yuqassī al-qalba, wa-yuqillu al-bahāʾa wa-al-mahābata, wa-yuʿqimu al-ḥikmata, wa-yukthiru al-saqaṭa.

Or speaking too much: it hardens the heart, diminishes dignity and reverence, makes wisdom barren, and multiplies slips.

وَمِثْلُ طُولِ الْأَمَلِ، فَإِنَّهُ يُنْسِي الْآخِرَةَ، وَيُذَكِّرُ الدُّنْيَا وَيُحَسِّنُهَا، وَيُحَبِّبُهَا إِلَيْكَ، وَيُورِثُ الْحَسَدَ وَالتَّسْوِيفَ، وَيُقَوِّي الْهَوَى، وَيُكْثِرُ الشَّهَوَاتِ.

Wa-mithlu ṭūli al-ʾamali, fa-ʾinnahu yunsī al-ʾākhirata, wa-yudhakkiru al-dunyā wa-yuḥassinuhā, wa-yuḥabbibuhā ʾilayka, wa-yūrithu al-ḥasada wa-al-taswīfa, wa-yuqawwī al-hawā, wa-yukthiru al-shahawāti.

Or long hopes: they make you forget the next life, call this world to mind, adorn it and make you love it, produce envy and procrastination, strengthen desire, and multiply cravings.

وَفِي هٰذَا مَا تَسْتَدِلُّ بِهِ عَلَى أَضْدَادِهِ، فَإِذَا فَكَّرْتَ فِيهِ عَرَفْتَ مِنَ الْأَشْيَاءِ مَا يُورِثُ الْخَيْرَ، وَمَا يُورِثُ الشَّرَّ، وَكُلُّ شُغْلٍ يَشْغَلُ عَنْ غَيْرِهِ مِنَ الْأَشْغَالِ، لِأَنَّ الْقَلْبَ وَاحِدٌ، لَا يُمْكِنُهُ أَنْ يَشْتَغِلَ إِلَّا بِشَيْءٍ وَاحِدٍ.

Wa-fī hādhā mā tastadillu bihi ʿalā ʾaḍdādihi, fa-ʾidhā fakkarta fīhi ʿarafta mina al-ʾashyāʾi mā yūrithu al-khayra, wa-mā yūrithu al-sharra, wa-kullu shughlin yashghalu ʿan ghayrihi mina al-ʾashghāli, li-ʾanna al-qalba wāḥidun, lā yumkinuhu ʾan yashtaghila ʾillā bishayʾin wāḥidin.

From these you can infer their opposites. Reflect on them and you will recognize what produces good and what produces evil. Every occupation distracts from other occupations, because the heart is one and can attend to only one thing at a time.

Source page 103

الْإِرَادَةُ وَالصِّدْقُ وَالْهَوَى

Al-ʾirādatu wa-al-ṣidqu wa-al-hawā

Intention, truthfulness, and desire

اتِّفَاقُ الْهَوَى وَالصِّدْقِ عَلَى عَمَلِ الْبِرِّ

Ittifāqu al-hawā wa-al-ṣidqi ʿalā ʿamali al-birri

Desire and truthfulness agreeing on a good deed

قُلْتُ: الصِّدْقُ وَالْهَوَى مُتَّفِقَانِ عَلَى عَمَلِ الْبِرِّ.

Qultu: al-ṣidqu wa-al-hawā muttafiqāni ʿalā ʿamali al-birri.

I said, “Truthfulness and desire agree on doing good.”

قَالَ: إِنَّ اللَّهَ قَادِرٌ عَلَى أَنْ يُسَخِّرَ الْهَوَى لِلصِّدْقِ، وَإِنْ كَانَ فَقَلِيلٌ، وَالَّذِي يَعْرِفُ هٰذَا الْقَلِيلَ فِي النَّاسِ هُمْ قَلِيلٌ، وَالَّذِي يَجْهَلُهُ كَثِيرٌ، لِأَنَّ الْإِرَادَةَ لِلْعَمَلِ قَبْلَ الْعَمَلِ، وَالْهَوَى وَالشَّهْوَةَ مِمَّا يَلِي الْعَمَلَ، وَالنِّيَّةَ وَالصِّدْقَ مِنْ وَرَائِهِمَا.

Qāla: ʾinna Allāha qādirun ʿalā ʾan yusakhkhira al-hawā li-al-ṣidqi, wa-ʾin kāna fa-qalīlun, wa-alladhī yaʿrifu hādhā al-qalīla fī al-nāsi hum qalīlun, wa-alladhī yajhaluhu kathīrun, li-ʾanna al-ʾirādata li-al-ʿamali qabla al-ʿamali, wa-al-hawā wa-al-shahwata mimmā yalī al-ʿamala, wa-al-niyyata wa-al-ṣidqa min warāʾihimā.

He replied, “God can indeed make desire serve truthfulness. But when this happens it is rare, and few people recognize this rare occurrence; many are ignorant of it. The wish to act comes before the action. Desire and craving lie immediately before the deed, with intention and truthfulness behind them.”

فَكُلَّمَا أَرَادَ الْعَبْدُ أَوْ هَمَّ بِالْعَمَلِ مِنْ قَرِيبٍ أَوْ بَعِيدٍ، ابْتَدَرَ الْهَوَى وَالشَّهْوَةُ وَالنِّيَّةُ الصَّادِقَةُ (فِيهِمَا) إِلَى الْقَلْبِ بِذِكْرِ مَا يُرْجَى وَمَا يُؤَمَّلُ مِنْ مِثْلِ ذٰلِكَ الْعَمَلِ مِنْ حَاجَاتِ الدُّنْيَا وَشَهَوَاتِهَا، وَمَنَافِعِهَا، مَرَافِقِهَا وَلَذَّاتِهَا، وَمَا يُؤْنَسُ بِمِثْلِهِ مِنَ الْأَشْيَاءِ، وَمَا حَسُنَ مَوْقِعُهُ مِنَ النَّاسِ، وَذِكْرِهِمْ لَهُ بِالثَّنَاءِ وَالْمَحْمَدَةِ وَالْقَدْرِ وَالْجَاهِ وَالرِّفْعَةِ وَالرِّئَاسَةِ.

Fa-kullamā ʾarāda al-ʿabdu ʾaw hamma bi-al-ʿamali min qarībin ʾaw baʿīdin, ibtadara al-hawā wa-al-shahwatu wa-al-niyyatu al-ṣādiqatu (fīhimā) ʾilā al-qalbi bidhikri mā yurjā wa-mā yuʾammalu min mithli dhālika al-ʿamali min ḥājāti al-dunyā wa-shahawātihā, wa-manāfiʿihā, marāfiqihā wa-ladhdhātihā, wa-mā yuʾnasu bimithlihi mina al-ʾashyāʾi, wa-mā ḥasuna mawqiʿuhu mina al-nāsi, wa-dhikrihim lahu bi-al-thanāʾi wa-al-maḥmadati wa-al-qadri wa-al-jāhi wa-al-rifʿati wa-al-riʾāsati.

Whenever the servant wishes or intends to act, sooner or later, desire, craving, and truthful intention “(within them)” rush to the heart [this printed grouping is unclear]. They bring to mind what one hopes and expects from such a deed: worldly needs, cravings, benefits, conveniences, pleasures, things that offer comfort, favorable reception among people, and their mention of him with praise, commendation, esteem, standing, elevation, and leadership.

وَالْإِرَادَةُ الصَّادِقَةُ بَعْدُ غَائِبَةٌ، وَمَا دَامَتْ غَائِبَةً فَالْقَلْبُ يَقْبَلُ هٰذِهِ الْأَشْيَاءَ، لَا يَرُدُّ مِنْهَا شَيْئًا لِأَنَّهُ لَا بُدَّ أَنْ يَكُونَ لِلْقَلْبِ أَمَلٌ فِي هٰذَا الْعَمَلِ الَّذِي أَرَادَهُ وَهَمَّ بِهِ،

Wa-al-ʾirādatu al-ṣādiqatu baʿdu ghāʾibatun, wa-mā dāmat ghāʾibatan fa-al-qalbu yaqbalu hādhihi al-ʾashyāʾa, lā yaruddu minhā shayʾan li-ʾannahu lā budda ʾan yakūna li-al-qalbi ʾamalun fī hādhā al-ʿamali alladhī ʾarādahu wa-hamma bihi,

Truthful intention is still absent. As long as it is absent, the heart accepts these things and rejects none of them, because it must have some hope concerning the deed it wishes and intends to perform.

وَالْإِنْسَانُ أَكْثَرُ شَيْءٍ نِسْيَانًا، وَأَكْثَرُ النِّسْيَانِ فِي ذٰلِكَ الْوَقْتِ، لِأَنَّ هٰذِهِ الْأَشْيَاءَ الَّتِي جَاءَتْ بِهَا النَّفْسُ وَالْهَوَى إِلَى الْقَلْبِ مِمَّا ذَكَرْنَا مِنَ الثَّنَاءِ وَالْمَحْمَدَةِ وَالرِّفْقِ وَالْقَدْرِ وَالْجَاهِ وَالرِّئَاسَةِ وَالْمَنْزِلَةِ كُلَّهَا مِمَّا يَتَحَلَّى بِهِ الْقَلْبُ وَيَشْتَهِيهِ، وَيَرْغَبُ فِيهِ، فَلِذٰلِكَ تَكْثُرُ الْغَفْلَةُ وَالنِّسْيَانُ لِلْإِرَادَةِ الصَّادِقَةِ.

wa-al-ʾinsānu ʾaktharu shayʾin nisyānan, wa-ʾaktharu al-nisyāni fī dhālika al-waqti, li-ʾanna hādhihi al-ʾashyāʾa allatī jāʾat bihā al-nafsu wa-al-hawā ʾilā al-qalbi mimmā dhakarnā mina al-thanāʾi wa-al-maḥmadati wa-al-rifqi wa-al-qadri wa-al-jāhi wa-al-riʾāsati wa-al-manzilati kullahā mimmā yataḥallā bihi al-qalbu wa-yashtahīhi, wa-yarghabu fīhi, fa-li-dhālika takthuru al-ghaflatu wa-al-nisyānu li-al-ʾirādati al-ṣādiqati.

The human being is exceedingly forgetful, and forgetfulness is greatest at that moment. The things the self and desire bring to the heart, the praise, commendation, comfort, esteem, standing, leadership, and position we have mentioned, are all things with which the heart adorns itself, which it craves and desires. This is why heedlessness and forgetfulness of truthful intention increase.

وَلَوْ كَانَ مَكَانَ الَّذِي يَسْتَحْلِيهِ الْقَلْبُ وَيَشْتَهِيهِ مَرَارَةٌ وَكَرَاهِيَةٌ، لَمَا كَانَ يَقْبَلُ النِّسْيَانَ وَالْغَفْلَةَ، وَلٰكِنْ حَيْثُ جَاءَتِ الْمُوَافَقَةُ سَكَنَ الْقَلْبُ إِلَى هٰذِهِ الْخِلَالِ.

Wa-law kāna makāna alladhī yastaḥlīhi al-qalbu wa-yashtahīhi marāratun wa-karāhiyatun, lamā kāna yaqbalu al-nisyāna wa-al-ghaflata, wa-lākin ḥaythu jāʾati al-muwāfaqatu sakana al-qalbu ʾilā hādhihi al-khilāli.

If bitterness and aversion took the place of what the heart finds sweet and desirable, it would not admit forgetfulness and heedlessness. But because these things suit it, the heart rests content with them.

فَمَنْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ أَنْ يُنْعِمَ عَلَيْهِ حَتَّى تَكُونَ الْإِرَادَةُ الصَّادِقَةُ أَمَامَ الْهَوَى وَشَهْوَةِ النَّفْسِ، وَحَتَّى يُرِيدَ بِالْعَمَلِ وَجْهَ اللَّهِ، وَالدَّارَ الْآخِرَةَ، فَفِي هٰذَا يَكُونُ شُغْلُ الْقَلْبِ عِنْدَ ذٰلِكَ، وَفِيمَا يُؤَمِّلُ فِيهِ مِنْ رِضَى اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَثَوَابِهِ،

Fa-man shāʾa Allāhu ʿazza wa-jalla ʾan yunʿima ʿalayhi ḥattā takūna al-ʾirādatu al-ṣādiqatu ʾamāma al-hawā wa-shahwati al-nafsi, wa-ḥattā yurīda bi-al-ʿamali wajha Allāhi, wa-al-dāra al-ʾākhirata, fa-fī hādhā yakūnu shughlu al-qalbi ʿinda dhālika, wa-fīmā yuʾammilu fīhi min riḍā Allāhi ʿazza wa-jalla wa-thawābihi,

But when God, mighty and majestic, chooses to bless someone so that truthful intention precedes desire and the self's craving, and so that he seeks God's face and the next abode through the deed, this occupies the heart, together with the pleasure and reward of God, mighty and majestic, which he hopes for.

Source pages 103–104

وَمَا جَاءَتْ بِهِ النَّفْسُ وَالْهَوَى مِمَّا ذَكَرْنَاهُ لَمْ يَقْبَلْهُ الْقَلْبُ، وَرَدَّهُ عَلَيْهِمْ. فَفِي هٰذَا أَعْظَمُ النِّعَمِ، وَعَلَى صَاحِبِهِ أَكْثَرُ الشُّكْرِ.

wa-mā jāʾat bihi al-nafsu wa-al-hawā mimmā dhakarnāhu lam yaqbalhu al-qalbu, wa-raddahu ʿalayhim. Fa-fī hādhā ʾaʿẓamu al-niʿami, wa-ʿalā ṣāḥibihi ʾaktharu al-shukri.

The heart does not accept the things we mentioned that the self and desire bring; it turns them back upon them. This is among the greatest blessings, and its recipient owes the greatest gratitude.

Source page 104

سَبْقُ الْهَوَى عَلَى الْإِرَادَةِ الصَّادِقَةِ فِي الْعَمَلِ

Sabqu al-hawā ʿalā al-ʾirādati al-ṣādiqati fī al-ʿamali

Desire preceding truthful intention in a deed

وَإِنْ كَانَتِ النَّفْسُ وَالْهَوَى وَالشَّهْوَةُ سَابِقَاتٍ عَلَى الْإِرَادَةِ الصَّادِقَةِ، فَلَا بُدَّ لِصَاحِبِهَا مِنَ الْوُقُوفِ وَالنَّظَرِ وَالْفِكْرِ، حَتَّى يُنَقِّيَ قَلْبَهُ مِمَّا عَرَضَتْ بِهِ النَّفْسُ وَالْهَوَى وَالشَّهْوَةُ، وَيَجْعَلَ إِرَادَةَ اللَّهِ مَكَانَ ذٰلِكَ وَأَمَامَهُ، فَيَقْبَلَهُ الْقَلْبُ، سَاءَهُ أَوْ سَرَّهُ،

Wa-ʾin kānati al-nafsu wa-al-hawā wa-al-shahwatu sābiqātin ʿalā al-ʾirādati al-ṣādiqati, fa-lā budda liṣāḥibihā mina al-wuqūfi wa-al-naẓari wa-al-fikri, ḥattā yunaqqiya qalbahu mimmā ʿaraḍat bihi al-nafsu wa-al-hawā wa-al-shahwatu, wa-yajʿala ʾirādata Allāhi makāna dhālika wa-ʾamāmahu, fa-yaqbalahu al-qalbu, sāʾahu ʾaw sarrahu,

If the self, desire, and craving precede truthful intention, the person must pause, examine, and reflect until he clears his heart of what they have presented and puts the intention of seeking God in its place and ahead of it, so that the heart accepts it, whether it pleases or displeases him.

ثُمَّ يَتَحَفَّظُ وَيَتَعَاهَدُ، حَتَّى يَخْتِمَ الْعَمَلَ الَّذِي افْتَتَحَهُ بِالْإِرَادَةِ الصَّادِقَةِ بِمِثْلِ ذٰلِكَ، وَبَعْدَ فَرَاغِهِ مِنَ الْعَمَلِ، مَا دَامَ الرُّوحُ فِي جَسَدِهِ.

thumma yataḥaffaẓu wa-yataʿāhadu, ḥattā yakhtima al-ʿamala alladhī iftataḥahu bi-al-ʾirādati al-ṣādiqati bimithli dhālika, wa-baʿda farāghihi mina al-ʿamali, mā dāma al-rūḥu fī jasadihi.

Then he must remain watchful and keep checking, until he ends the deed with the same truthful intention with which he began it, and after finishing the deed, as long as his spirit remains in his body.

وَاعْلَمْ أَنَّ إِحْكَامَ هٰذَا أَعَزُّ وَأَشَدُّ مِنْ نَقْلِ الصَّخْرِ، وَرُكُوبِ الْأَسِنَّةِ، إِلَّا مَنْ رَزَقَهُ اللَّهُ إِحْكَامَ ذٰلِكَ، وَالْعِنَايَةَ بِهِ، مَخَافَةَ تَلَفِ نَفْسِهِ، وَإِحْبَاطِ عَمَلِهِ، لِأَنَّ الْعَدُوَّ مُلِحٌّ مُجِدٌّ مُحْتَالٌ لَهُ فِي إِدْخَالِ الْآفَاتِ الَّتِي تُفْسِدُ الْأَعْمَالَ، فَهُوَ يَرْصُدُهُ قَبْلَ دُخُولِهِ فِي الْعَمَلِ، وَبَعْدَمَا يَدْخُلُ فِيهِ، وَبَعْدَ مَا يَخْرُجُ مِنْهُ.

Wa-iʿlam ʾanna ʾiḥkāma hādhā ʾaʿazzu wa-ʾashaddu min naqli al-ṣakhri, wa-rukūbi al-ʾasinnati, ʾillā man razaqahu Allāhu ʾiḥkāma dhālika, wa-al-ʿināyata bihi, makhāfata talafi nafsihi, wa-ʾiḥbāṭi ʿamalihi, li-ʾanna al-ʿaduwwa muliḥḥun mujiddun muḥtālun lahu fī ʾidkhāli al-ʾāfāti allatī tufsidu al-ʾaʿmāla, fa-huwa yarṣuduhu qabla dukhūlihi fī al-ʿamali, wa-baʿdamā yadkhulu fīhi, wa-baʿda mā yakhruju minhu.

Know that mastering this is rarer and harder than moving rock or riding onto spearheads, except for someone whom God grants such mastery and care for it, out of fear for his soul's ruin and the nullification of his deed. The enemy is persistent, earnest, and crafty in introducing the defects that corrupt deeds. He lies in wait before the person begins a deed, after he enters it, and after he leaves it.

عُرُوضُ الْهَوَى بَعْدَ تَقْدِيمِ الْإِرَادَةِ الصَّادِقَةِ

ʿUrūḍu al-hawā baʿda taqdīmi al-ʾirādati al-ṣādiqati

Desire arising after truthful intention has been put first

فَإِنْ قَدَّمَ الْإِرَادَةَ وَالنِّيَّةَ الصَّادِقَةَ الصَّحِيحَةَ الَّتِي لَا سَقَمَ فِيهَا، وَدَخَلَ بِهَا الْعَمَلَ، وَنَفَى الْهَوَى، وَدَفَعَ النَّفْسَ، وَخَالَفَ الشَّهْوَةَ، وَجَاهَدَ الْعَدُوَّ، فَإِنْ صَدَّهُ بَعْدَ دُخُولِهِ فِي الْعَمَلِ، فَعَرَضَ لَهُ بِمَا ذَكَرْنَا مِنَ الْآفَاتِ الَّتِي تُفْسِدُ الْأَعْمَالَ، فَإِنْ قَبِلَهَا حَتَّى يَخْتِمَ الْعَمَلَ بِقَبُولِهَا، فَسَدَ عَلَيْهِ أَصْلُهُ الصَّحِيحُ الَّذِي كَانَ قَدْ أَصَّلَ، وَدَخَلَ بِهَا فِي الْعَمَلِ.

Fa-ʾin qaddama al-ʾirādata wa-al-niyyata al-ṣādiqata al-ṣaḥīḥata allatī lā saqama fīhā, wa-dakhala bihā al-ʿamala, wa-nafā al-hawā, wa-dafaʿa al-nafsa, wa-khālafa al-shahwata, wa-jāhada al-ʿaduwwa, fa-ʾin ṣaddahu baʿda dukhūlihi fī al-ʿamali, fa-ʿaraḍa lahu bimā dhakarnā mina al-ʾāfāti allatī tufsidu al-ʾaʿmāla, fa-ʾin qabilahā ḥattā yakhtima al-ʿamala biqabūlihā, fasada ʿalayhi ʾaṣluhu al-ṣaḥīḥu alladhī kāna qad ʾaṣṣala, wa-dakhala bihā fī al-ʿamali.

Suppose he puts first a truthful, sound intention with no defect in it, enters the deed with it, dismisses desire, resists the self, opposes craving, and struggles against the enemy. If the enemy then obstructs him after he has begun and presents the defects we have mentioned that corrupt deeds, and he accepts them and finishes the deed still accepting them, the sound foundation he had established is corrupted, although he entered the deed with that intention.

وَإِنْ هُوَ لَمْ يَقْبَلْ مَا عَرَضَ لَهُ بِهِ فِي الْعَمَلِ، وَنَفَاهُ وَدَفَعَهُ لَمْ يَضُرَّهُ ذٰلِكَ شَيْئًا.

Wa-ʾin huwa lam yaqbal mā ʿaraḍa lahu bihi fī al-ʿamali, wa-nafāhu wa-dafaʿahu lam yaḍurrahu dhālika shayʾan.

If he does not accept what the enemy presents during the deed, but dismisses and repels it, it does him no harm.

وَإِنْ هُوَ قَبِلَهُ، ثُمَّ انْتَبَهَ قَبْلَ أَنْ يَفْرُغَ مِنَ الْعَمَلِ، فَنَدِمَ وَرَجَعَ وَتَيَقَّظَ، وَأَزَالَ الْغَفْلَةَ، ثُمَّ خَتَمَ الْعَمَلَ بِالنَّدَمِ، لَمْ يَضُرَّهُ ذٰلِكَ شَيْئًا.

Wa-ʾin huwa qabilahu, thumma intabaha qabla ʾan yafrugha mina al-ʿamali, fa-nadima wa-rajaʿa wa-tayaqqaẓa, wa-ʾazāla al-ghaflata, thumma khatama al-ʿamala bi-al-nadami, lam yaḍurrahu dhālika shayʾan.

If he accepts it but then becomes aware before finishing the deed, feels remorse, turns back, awakens, and dispels heedlessness, and then ends the deed in remorse, it does him no harm.

Source page 105

وَإِنْ هُوَ خَتَمَ الْعَمَلَ بِالصِّدْقِ وَالصِّحَّةِ، فَإِنَّهُ يُطَالِبُهُ فِي ذٰلِكَ الْعَمَلِ لِيُفْسِدَهُ عَلَيْهِ وَلَوْ بَعْدَ حِينٍ.

Wa-ʾin huwa khatama al-ʿamala bi-al-ṣidqi wa-al-ṣiḥḥati, fa-ʾinnahu yuṭālibuhu fī dhālika al-ʿamali liyufsidahu ʿalayhi wa-law baʿda ḥīnin.

Even if he completes the deed truthfully and soundly, the enemy continues to pursue him over that deed in order to corrupt it, even after some time has passed.

فَيَنْبَغِي لِلْعَبْدِ أَنْ يَتَّقِيَ اللَّهَ، وَأَنْ يُخْلِصَ لَهُ الْعَمَلَ، وَيُقَدِّمَ لَهُ النِّيَّةَ أَمَامَ كُلِّ عَمَلٍ، وَبَعْدَ كُلِّ عَمَلٍ، إِلَى الْمَمَاتِ، حَتَّى تَكُونَ أَعْمَالُهُ كُلُّهَا لِلَّهِ وَحْدَهُ، وَلَا يَطْلُبَ الثَّوَابَ إِلَّا مِنَ اللَّهِ وَحْدَهُ،

Fa-yanbaghī li-al-ʿabdi ʾan yattaqiya Allāha, wa-ʾan yukhliṣa lahu al-ʿamala, wa-yuqaddima lahu al-niyyata ʾamāma kulli ʿamalin, wa-baʿda kulli ʿamalin, ʾilā al-mamāti, ḥattā takūna ʾaʿmāluhu kulluhā li-llāhi waḥdahu, wa-lā yaṭluba al-thawāba ʾillā mina Allāhi waḥdahu,

The servant should therefore fear God, devote his deeds sincerely to Him, and put intention for Him before every deed and maintain it after every deed until death. All his deeds should be for God alone, and he should seek reward from God alone.

وَيُجَاهِدَ هٰذَا الْعَدُوَّ الْمُسَلَّطَ، وَيُخَالِفَ هٰذَا الْهَوَى، وَيُكَابِدَ هٰذِهِ النَّفْسَ، وَيَتَّقِيَ هٰذِهِ الشَّهْوَةَ الْهَائِجَةَ فِي قَلْبِهِ، وَيَعْلَمَ مَنْ يُعَامِلُ، وَلِمَنْ يَعْمَلُ لَهُ، وَثَوَابَ مَنْ يَطْلُبُ.

wa-yujāhida hādhā al-ʿaduwwa al-musallaṭa, wa-yukhālifa hādhā al-hawā, wa-yukābida hādhihi al-nafsa, wa-yattaqiya hādhihi al-shahwata al-hāʾijata fī qalbihi, wa-yaʿlama man yuʿāmilu, wa-liman yaʿmalu lahu, wa-thawāba man yaṭlubu.

He should struggle against this empowered enemy, oppose this desire, contend with this self, guard against the craving surging in his heart, and know with whom he deals, for whom he acts, and whose reward he seeks.

وَيَعْمَلَ الْعَمَلَ بِهَيَجَانِ الرَّغْبَةِ فِي ثَوَابِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، وَهَيَجَانِ الرَّهْبَةِ مِنْ عِقَابِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، وَأَنَّهُ إِنْ عَمِلَ عَلَى ذٰلِكَ عَمِلَ الْعَمَلَ بِشَهْوَةٍ وَخِفَّةٍ وَمَحَبَّةٍ، لِمَا قَدْ هَاجَ مِنْ رَغْبَتِهِ وَرَهْبَتِهِ، فَأَزَالَ عَنْهُ مَا ذَكَرْنَا مِنَ الْآفَاتِ، الَّتِي تُفْسِدُ الْأَعْمَالَ.

Wa-yaʿmala al-ʿamala bihayajāni al-raghbati fī thawābi Allāhi taʿālā, wa-hayajāni al-rahbati min ʿiqābi Allāhi taʿālā, wa-ʾannahu ʾin ʿamila ʿalā dhālika ʿamila al-ʿamala bishahwatin wa-khiffatin wa-maḥabbatin, limā qad hāja min raghbatihi wa-rahbatihi, fa-ʾazāla ʿanhu mā dhakarnā mina al-ʾāfāti, allatī tufsidu al-ʾaʿmāla.

He should act with ardent longing for the reward of God Most High and intense fear of the punishment of God Most High. If he acts in this way, he acts with desire, ease, and love because of the longing and fear stirred within him, which remove the defects we have mentioned that corrupt deeds.

فَإِذَا عَمِلَ عَلَى ذٰلِكَ فَكَأَنَّمَا جُمِعَ لَهُ الْهَوَى وَالصِّدْقُ جَمِيعًا، وَلَا يُبَالِي إِذَا كَانَ هٰكَذَا مُوَافَقَةَ الْهَوَى أَوْ مُخَالَفَتَهُ، وَمَا عَلَيْهِ مِنْ مُخَالَفَةِ الْهَوَى إِذَا سَلِمَ مِنْ شَرِّهِ، وَكَانَ ذٰلِكَ لَا يَضُرُّهُ، فَكَأَنَّمَا وَافَقَهُ.

Fa-ʾidhā ʿamila ʿalā dhālika fa-kaʾannamā jumiʿa lahu al-hawā wa-al-ṣidqu jamīʿan, wa-lā yubālī ʾidhā kāna hākadhā muwāfaqata al-hawā ʾaw mukhālafatahu, wa-mā ʿalayhi min mukhālafati al-hawā ʾidhā salima min sharrihi, wa-kāna dhālika lā yaḍurruhu, fa-kaʾannamā wāfaqahu.

When he acts in this way, it is as though desire and truthfulness have been brought together for him. In such a state, he does not care whether desire agrees or disagrees. What harm is there in desire's opposition if he is safe from its evil and it does not hurt him? It is as though desire agreed with him.

فَلَا بُدَّ أَنْ يُوقَفَ الْعَبْدُ، وَيُسْأَلَ عَمَّا عَمِلَ، وَلِمَنْ عَمِلَ؟ وَمَاذَا أَرَادَ بِمَا عَمِلَ؟

Fa-lā budda ʾan yūqafa al-ʿabdu, wa-yusʾala ʿammā ʿamila, wa-liman ʿamila? Wa-mādhā ʾarāda bimā ʿamila?

The servant must be brought to a halt and questioned about what he did: for whom did he act, and what did he intend by it?

الرِّيَاءُ وَالْإِخْلَاصُ وَأَحْكَامُهُمَا

Al-riyāʾu wa-al-ʾikhlāṣu wa-ʾaḥkāmuhumā

Showing off, sincerity, and their rulings

وَالْإِرَادَةُ إِرَادَتَانِ: إِحْدَاهُمَا لِلدُّنْيَا، وَالْأُخْرَى لِلْآخِرَةِ.

Wa-al-ʾirādatu ʾirādatāni: ʾiḥdāhumā li-al-dunyā, wa-al-ʾukhrā li-al-ʾākhirati.

Intention is of two kinds: one for this world, the other for the next.

فَالصِّدْقُ وَالْإِخْلَاصُ إِنَّمَا هُوَ إِذَا أَرَادَ الْعَبْدُ بِعَمَلِهِ وَجْهَ اللَّهِ، وَلَيْسَ فِيهِ شَيْءٌ مِنْ مَعَانِي الدُّنْيَا.

Fa-al-ṣidqu wa-al-ʾikhlāṣu ʾinnamā huwa ʾidhā ʾarāda al-ʿabdu biʿamalihi wajha Allāhi, wa-laysa fīhi shayʾun min maʿānī al-dunyā.

Truthfulness and sincerity consist in the servant seeking God's face through his deed, with no worldly purpose in it.

وَالرِّيَاءُ إِنَّمَا هُوَ: أَنْ تَكُونَ الْإِرَادَةُ كُلُّهَا لِلدُّنْيَا.

Wa-al-riyāʾu ʾinnamā huwa: ʾan takūna al-ʾirādatu kulluhā li-al-dunyā.

Showing off consists in the intention being wholly for this world.

فَمِنْهُ مَا يَكُونُ الْعَبْدُ يُرِيدُ بِعَمَلِهِ فِي أَصْلِ الْعَمَلِ الْمَحْمَدَةَ وَالثَّنَاءَ.

Fa-minhu mā yakūnu al-ʿabdu yurīdu biʿamalihi fī ʾaṣli al-ʿamali al-maḥmadata wa-al-thanāʾa.

One form is for the servant to intend commendation and praise through his deed from its very beginning.

وَمِنْهُ مَا يَكُونُ الْعَبْدُ يُرِيدُ بِهِ فِي أَصْلِ عَمَلِهِ وَجْهَ اللَّهِ وَالدَّارَ الْآخِرَةَ، وَيُحِبُّ أَنْ يُحْمَدَ بِعَمَلِهِ، وَيُثْنَى عَلَيْهِ.

Wa-minhu mā yakūnu al-ʿabdu yurīdu bihi fī ʾaṣli ʿamalihi wajha Allāhi wa-al-dāra al-ʾākhirata, wa-yuḥibbu ʾan yuḥmada biʿamalihi, wa-yuthnā ʿalayhi.

Another is for the servant to intend God's face and the next abode from the beginning of his deed, while also wishing to be commended and praised for it.

Source page 106

وَمِنْهُ مَا يَكُونُ الْعَبْدُ يُرِيدُ بِعَمَلِهِ وَجْهَ اللَّهِ وَحْدَهُ، وَالدَّارَ الْآخِرَةَ، فَإِذَا دَخَلَ فِي الْعَمَلِ عَلَى ذٰلِكَ الْإِخْلَاصِ عَرَضَ لَهُ بَعْضُ مَا ذَكَرْنَا مِنَ الْآفَاتِ فَقَبِلَهَا، وَأَحَبَّ أَنْ يُحْمَدَ عَلَى عَمَلِهِ، وَأَنْ يَتَّخِذَ بِهِ مَنْزِلَةً عِنْدَ أَحَدٍ مِنَ الْمَخْلُوقِينَ.

Wa-minhu mā yakūnu al-ʿabdu yurīdu biʿamalihi wajha Allāhi waḥdahu, wa-al-dāra al-ʾākhirata, fa-ʾidhā dakhala fī al-ʿamali ʿalā dhālika al-ʾikhlāṣi ʿaraḍa lahu baʿḍu mā dhakarnā mina al-ʾāfāti fa-qabilahā, wa-ʾaḥabba ʾan yuḥmada ʿalā ʿamalihi, wa-ʾan yattakhidha bihi manzilatan ʿinda ʾaḥadin mina al-makhlūqīna.

Another form is for the servant to intend God's face alone and the next abode through his deed. Once he begins with that sincerity, some of the defects we have mentioned arise, and he accepts them, wishing to be commended for his deed and to gain a position with one of God's creatures through it.

وَمِنْهُ مَا يَكُونُ الْعَبْدُ يُرِيدُ بِعَمَلِهِ وَجْهَ اللَّهِ وَالدَّارَ الْآخِرَةَ، وَيَخْتِمُ عَمَلَهُ بِذٰلِكَ، وَيُطَالَبُ بِالْآفَاتِ بَعْدَ الْفَرَاغِ مِنَ الْعَمَلِ وَلَوْ بَعْدَ حِينٍ، حَتَّى يُخْبِرَ بِذٰلِكَ الْعَمَلِ يُرِيدُ أَنْ يُحْمَدَ عَلَيْهِ، وَيَتَّخِذَ بِهِ الْجَاهَ وَالْمَنْزِلَةَ، عِنْدَ الْمَخْلُوقِينَ. فَهٰذَا أَسْهَلُ مِنْ جَمِيعِ مَا ذَكَرْنَا.

Wa-minhu mā yakūnu al-ʿabdu yurīdu biʿamalihi wajha Allāhi wa-al-dāra al-ʾākhirata, wa-yakhtimu ʿamalahu bi-dhālika, wa-yuṭālabu bi-al-ʾāfāti baʿda al-farāghi mina al-ʿamali wa-law baʿda ḥīnin, ḥattā yukhbira bi-dhālika al-ʿamali yurīdu ʾan yuḥmada ʿalayhi, wa-yattakhidha bihi al-jāha wa-al-manzilata, ʿinda al-makhlūqīna. Fa-hādhā ʾas-halu min jamīʿi mā dhakarnā.

Another is for the servant to intend God's face and the next abode, and to finish his deed with that intention. Afterward, even after some time, he is pursued by these defects until he tells others of the deed, wishing to be commended and to gain standing and position among people through it. This is less serious than all the cases we have mentioned.

وَالنَّاسُ فِي هٰذَا مُخْتَلِفُونَ.

Wa-al-nāsu fī hādhā mukhtalifūna.

People disagree about this.

فِرْقَةٌ تَقُولُ: هٰذَا مِنَ الذُّنُوبِ، وَلَا يُفْسِدُ الْعَمَلَ، لِأَنَّ الْعَمَلَ قَدْ مَضَى وَخُتِمَ بِالصِّحَّةِ، فَلَا يَفْسُدُ بَعْدَ الْخَاتِمَةِ، وَمَا لَحِقَ الْعَبْدَ بَعْدَ ذٰلِكَ فَقَبِلَهُ مِنْ هٰذِهِ الْآفَاتِ فَلِلَّهِ فِي ذٰلِكَ عَلَى الْعَبْدِ مَقَامٌ وَمُطَالَبَةٌ، وَالْعَمَلُ لَا يَبْطُلُ.

Firqatun taqūlu: hādhā mina al-dhunūbi, wa-lā yufsidu al-ʿamala, li-ʾanna al-ʿamala qad maḍā wa-khutima bi-al-ṣiḥḥati, fa-lā yafsudu baʿda al-khātimati, wa-mā laḥiqa al-ʿabda baʿda dhālika fa-qabilahu min hādhihi al-ʾāfāti fa-li-llāhi fī dhālika ʿalā al-ʿabdi maqāmun wa-muṭālabatun, wa-al-ʿamalu lā yabṭulu.

One group says: this is a sin, but it does not corrupt the deed, because the deed has passed and was completed soundly; it cannot be corrupted after its completion. For the defects that later reach the servant and that he accepts, God will call him to stand before Him and answer, but the deed is not nullified.

وَقَالَتْ فِرْقَةٌ: يَبْطُلُ الْعَمَلُ، وَلَوْ بَعْدَ حِينٍ إِذَا قَبِلَ الْآفَةَ، وَأَحَبَّ الْمَحْمَدَةَ، وَأَدْخَلَ الْمَخْلُوقِينَ فِي عَمَلِهِ، وَأَحَبَّ عِنْدَهُمُ الثَّنَاءَ وَالْمَنْزِلَةَ وَالْجَاهَ.

Wa-qālat firqatun: yabṭulu al-ʿamalu, wa-law baʿda ḥīnin ʾidhā qabila al-ʾāfata, wa-ʾaḥabba al-maḥmadata, wa-ʾadkhala al-makhlūqīna fī ʿamalihi, wa-ʾaḥabba ʿindahumu al-thanāʾa wa-al-manzilata wa-al-jāha.

Another group says: the deed is nullified, even after some time, if he accepts the defect, desires commendation, brings created beings into his deed, and seeks praise, position, and standing with them.

الْعَمَلُ الْخَالِي مِنْ ذِكْرِ الْإِرَادَةِ الصَّادِقَةِ

Al-ʿamalu al-khālī min dhikri al-ʾirādati al-ṣādiqati

A deed performed without recalling truthful intention

قُلْتُ: فَأَخْبِرْنِي إِذَا هَمَّ الْعَبْدُ بِعَمَلِ الْبِرِّ، وَعَمِلَهُ وَفَرَغَ مِنْهُ، وَلَمْ يَذْكُرْ قَبْلَ عَمَلِهِ وَلَا بَعْدَهُ إِرَادَةَ اللَّهِ وَالْآخِرَةِ وَكَانَ نَاسِيًا سَاهِيًا عَنْهَا، أَلَيْسَ هٰذَا عَمَلًا بِلَا نِيَّةٍ وَلَا صِدْقٍ؟

Qultu: fa-ʾakhbirnī ʾidhā hamma al-ʿabdu biʿamali al-birri, wa-ʿamilahu wa-faragha minhu, wa-lam yadhkur qabla ʿamalihi wa-lā baʿdahu ʾirādata Allāhi wa-al-ʾākhirati wa-kāna nāsiyan sāhiyan ʿanhā, ʾalaysa hādhā ʿamalan bilā niyyatin wa-lā ṣidqin?

I asked, “Tell me: if the servant intends a good deed, performs and finishes it, but recalls neither before nor afterward the intention of seeking God and the next life, having forgotten and overlooked it, is this not a deed without intention or truthfulness?”

قَالَ: بَلَى.

Qāla: balā.

He replied, “Yes.”

قُلْتُ: وَكَيْفَ يَكُونُ عَمَلٌ مِنْ أَعْمَالِ الْبِرِّ مِمَّا يُرَادُ اللَّهُ بِمِثْلِهِ بِلَا نِيَّةٍ وَلَا صِدْقٍ، وَقَدْ عَمِلَهُ الْعَبْدُ؟

Qultu: wa-kayfa yakūnu ʿamalun min ʾaʿmāli al-birri mimmā yurādu Allāhu bimithlihi bilā niyyatin wa-lā ṣidqin, wa-qad ʿamilahu al-ʿabdu?

I asked, “How can a good deed of the kind through which God is sought be without intention or truthfulness when the servant has actually performed it?”

قَالَ: إِذَا لَمْ يَكُنِ الصِّدْقُ، وَلَمْ يُقَدِّمِ النِّيَّةَ، فَلَيْسَ بِشَيْءٍ، لِأَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ: «إِنَّمَا الْأَعْمَالُ بِالنِّيَّةِ». فَإِنْ قُلْتَ: إِنِّي نَسِيتُ النِّيَّةَ، وَسَهَوْتُ عَنْهَا، فَهٰذَا إِقْرَارٌ، وَلَيْسَ لَكَ حُجَّةٌ. وَإِنَّمَا أَنْسَاكَ النِّيَّةَ الدُّنْيَا، وَإِرَادَتُكَ الْغَالِبَةُ لَهَا.

Qāla: ʾidhā lam yakuni al-ṣidqu, wa-lam yuqaddimi al-niyyata, fa-laysa bishayʾin, li-ʾanna al-nabiyya ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama qāla: «ʾinnamā al-ʾaʿmālu bi-al-niyyati». Fa-ʾin qulta: ʾinnī nasītu al-niyyata, wa-sahawtu ʿanhā, fa-hādhā ʾiqrārun, wa-laysa laka ḥujjatun. Wa-ʾinnamā ʾansāka al-niyyata al-dunyā, wa-ʾirādatuka al-ghālibatu lahā.

He replied, “If truthfulness is absent and he has not put intention first, the deed amounts to nothing, because the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, said, ‘Deeds are only by intention.’ If you say, ‘I forgot the intention and overlooked it,’ that is an admission, not an excuse. What made you forget the intention was this world and your overriding desire for it.”

أَوَلَيْسَ بَلِيَّةُ آدَمَ كَانَتْ مِنَ النِّسْيَانِ وَقِلَّةِ الْعَزْمِ؟ أَوَلَا تَسْمَعُ إِلَى قَوْلِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى: ﴿وَلَقَدْ عَهِدْنَا إِلَى آدَمَ مِنْ قَبْلُ فَنَسِيَ وَلَمْ نَجِدْ لَهُ عَزْمًا﴾.

ʾAwalaysa baliyyatu ʾĀdama kānat mina al-nisyāni wa-qillati al-ʿazmi? ʾAwalā tasmaʿu ʾilā qawli Allāhi taʿālā: ﴿wa-laqad ʿahidnā ʾilā ʾĀdama min qablu fa-nasiya wa-lam najid lahu ʿazman﴾.

Was not Adam's trial caused by forgetfulness and lack of resolve? Do you not hear the words of God Most High: “We had already charged Adam before, but he forgot, and We found no resolve in him”?

Source page 107

وَأَنَا أَقُولُ: إِنَّ الْعَمَلَ لَا يَكُونُ عَمَلًا كَمَا أَمَرَ اللَّهُ أَنْ يُعْمَلَ إِلَّا بِصِدْقِ نِيَّةٍ، وَصِحَّةِ إِرَادَةٍ، وَتَقْدِيمِهِمَا أَمَامَ كُلِّ عَمَلٍ، فَهٰذَا عِنْدِي هُوَ الْعَمَلُ، كَمَا قَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «الْأَعْمَالُ بِالنِّيَّةِ».

Wa-ʾanā ʾaqūlu: ʾinna al-ʿamala lā yakūnu ʿamalan kamā ʾamara Allāhu ʾan yuʿmala ʾillā biṣidqi niyyatin, wa-ṣiḥḥati ʾirādatin, wa-taqdīmihimā ʾamāma kulli ʿamalin, fa-hādhā ʿindī huwa al-ʿamalu, kamā qāla al-nabiyyu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama: «al-ʾaʿmālu bi-al-niyyati».

I say: a deed is not a deed performed as God commanded unless it has truthful intention and sound purpose, with both put before every deed. This, in my view, is what constitutes a deed, as the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, said: “Deeds are by intention.”

وُجُوبُ الْعِنَايَةِ بِجَوَاهِرِ الْأَعْمَالِ بِأَسْمَائِهَا

Wujūbu al-ʿināyati bijawāhiri al-ʾaʿmāli bi-ʾasmāʾihā

The duty of attending to the realities of deeds by their names [printed heading unclear]

وَاعْلَمْ أَنَّ وُقُوفَكَ عِنْدَ افْتِتَاحِ الْعَمَلِ، وَذِكْرَ الصِّدْقِ، وَتَصْحِيحَ النِّيَّةِ وَالْإِرَادَةِ، وَنُفُورَكَ مِنَ الرِّيَاءِ، وَذِكْرَكَ الْجَنَّةَ وَالنَّارَ، لَيْسَ يَزِيدُ فِي صِدْقِكَ، وَلَا يَنْقُصُ مِنْ رِيَائِكَ، حَتَّى تَسْتَعْمِلَ التَّقْوَى، وَتُقَدِّمَ النِّيَّةَ، وَتَصْدُقَ فِي الْإِرَادَةِ.

Wa-iʿlam ʾanna wuqūfaka ʿinda iftitāḥi al-ʿamali, wa-dhikra al-ṣidqi, wa-taṣḥīḥa al-niyyati wa-al-ʾirādati, wa-nufūraka mina al-riyāʾi, wa-dhikraka al-jannata wa-al-nāra, laysa yazīdu fī ṣidqika, wa-lā yanquṣu min riyāʾika, ḥattā tastaʿmila al-taqwā, wa-tuqaddima al-niyyata, wa-taṣduqa fī al-ʾirādati.

Know that pausing at the beginning of a deed, recalling truthfulness and the correction of intention and purpose, recoiling from showing off, and remembering Paradise and the Fire do not increase your truthfulness or diminish your showing off until you actually practice reverence for God, put intention first, and make your purpose truthful.

فَلَا تَفْتُرْ فِي ذٰلِكَ الْوَقْتِ، فَإِنَّ الْإِنْسَانَ يُحِبُّ اسْمَ الْخَيْرِ، وَيَكْرَهُ نَفْسَ الْخَيْرِ، وَيَكْرَهُ اسْمَ الشَّرِّ، وَيُحِبُّ نَفْسَ الشَّرِّ.

Fa-lā taftur fī dhālika al-waqti, fa-ʾinna al-ʾinsāna yuḥibbu isma al-khayri, wa-yakrahu nafsa al-khayri, wa-yakrahu isma al-sharri, wa-yuḥibbu nafsa al-sharri.

Do not slacken at that moment. A human being loves the name of goodness but dislikes goodness itself, and dislikes the name of evil but loves evil itself.

فَمَا أَحَبَّ إِلَى الْإِنْسَانِ اسْمَ الصِّدْقِ، وَمَا أَثْقَلَ عَلَيْهِ نَفْسَ الصِّدْقِ، مَا أَشَدَّ بُغْضَ الْإِنْسَانِ لِاسْمِ الرِّيَاءِ، وَمَا أَحَبَّهُ إِلَيْهِ، وَأَخَفَّهُ عَلَيْهِ، وَأَشَدَّ اسْتِعْمَالَهُ لَهُ.

Fa-mā ʾaḥabba ʾilā al-ʾinsāni isma al-ṣidqi, wa-mā ʾathqala ʿalayhi nafsa al-ṣidqi, mā ʾashadda bughḍa al-ʾinsāni li-ismi al-riyāʾi, wa-mā ʾaḥabbahu ʾilayhi, wa-ʾakhaffahu ʿalayhi, wa-ʾashadda istiʿmālahu lahu.

How dear the name of truthfulness is to a human being, and how burdensome truthfulness itself! How intensely he hates the name of showing off, yet how dear and easy it is to him, and how vigorously he practices it!

فَلَا تَتَسَاهَلْ فِي ذٰلِكَ الْوَقْتِ عَنْ ذِكْرِ النِّيَّةِ، فَإِنَّ الصِّدْقَ وَالنِّيَّةَ اسْمَانِ، وَنَفْسُهُمَا الْإِرَادَةُ الصَّادِقَةُ، وَإِنَّ النَّفْسَ وَالْهَوَى يَجْتَثَّانِ ثَمَرَةَ الْعَمَلِ بِحَلَاوَتِهِمَا.

Fa-lā tatasāhal fī dhālika al-waqti ʿan dhikri al-niyyati, fa-ʾinna al-ṣidqa wa-al-niyyata ismāni, wa-nafsuhumā al-ʾirādatu al-ṣādiqatu, wa-ʾinna al-nafsa wa-al-hawā yajtaththāni thamarata al-ʿamali biḥalāwatihimā.

Do not be lax at that moment about recalling intention. Truthfulness and intention are two names whose reality is truthful purpose. The self and desire uproot the fruit of the deed through their sweetness.

وَاعْلَمْ أَنَّ لَذَّتَكَ فِيمَا تَجِدُ مِنْ حَلَاوَةِ طَعْمِ الْحَلْوَى وَغَيْرِ ذٰلِكَ إِنَّمَا تَجِدُهَا عِنْدَ أَكْلِكَ إِذَا أَكَلْتَهَا، وَحَلَاوَةُ الْهَوَى وَالشَّهْوَةِ فِي الْفِكْرِ إِذَا تَابَعْتَهُ عَلَى مَا تُرِيدُ، لَيْسَ لَهُ طَعَامٌ وَلَا شَرَابٌ، إِنَّمَا لَذَّتُهُ مِنَ الْأَشْيَاءِ أَنْ يُتَابَعَ فِي فِكْرِهِ وَأَصْلِهِ.

Wa-iʿlam ʾanna ladhdhataka fīmā tajidu min ḥalāwati ṭaʿmi al-ḥalwā wa-ghayri dhālika ʾinnamā tajiduhā ʿinda ʾaklika ʾidhā ʾakaltahā, wa-ḥalāwatu al-hawā wa-al-shahwati fī al-fikri ʾidhā tābaʿtahu ʿalā mā turīdu, laysa lahu ṭaʿāmun wa-lā sharābun, ʾinnamā ladhdhatuhu mina al-ʾashyāʾi ʾan yutābaʿa fī fikrihi wa-ʾaṣlihi.

Know that the pleasure you find in the sweetness of confections and similar things comes when you eat them. The sweetness of desire and craving lies in thought, when you follow it toward what you want. It has neither food nor drink; its pleasure in things consists simply in being followed in its thinking and its source.

وَاعْلَمْ أَنَّ لَذَّةَ الرِّيَاءِ وَحَلَاوَتَهُ لَذَّةٌ تُخَالِطُ الْقُلُوبَ، وَتَجْرِي فِي الْعُرُوقِ، فَاحْذَرْ ذٰلِكَ فِي ابْتِدَاءِ أَوَّلِ الْعَمَلِ، وَفَاتِشِ الْهِمَّةَ وَتَقَصَّ تَصْحِيحَ الْإِرَادَةِ، وَكُنْ فِي ذٰلِكَ كُلِّهِ مُرَاقِبًا لِلَّهِ وَحْدَهُ.

Wa-iʿlam ʾanna ladhdhata al-riyāʾi wa-ḥalāwatahu ladhdhatun tukhāliṭu al-qulūba, wa-tajrī fī al-ʿurūqi, fa-iḥdhar dhālika fī ibtidāʾi ʾawwali al-ʿamali, wa-fātishi al-himmata wa-taqaṣṣa taṣḥīḥa al-ʾirādati, wa-kun fī dhālika kullihi murāqiban li-llāhi waḥdahu.

Know that the pleasure and sweetness of showing off mingle with hearts and flow through the veins. Beware of this at the very beginning of a deed. Scrutinize your purpose and pursue the correction of your intention thoroughly. In all of this, remain watchfully aware of God alone.

Source page 108

مَعْرِفَةُ الصِّدْقِ فِي نَقْلِ الْإِرَادَةِ مِنَ الرِّيَاءِ إِلَى الصِّحَّةِ

Maʿrifatu al-ṣidqi fī naqli al-ʾirādati mina al-riyāʾi ʾilā al-ṣiḥḥati

Recognizing truthfulness when turning intention from showing off to soundness

قُلْتُ: إِذَا أَرَدْتُ أَنْ أَعْمَلَ الْعَمَلَ، وَقَفْتُ قَبْلَ الِافْتِتَاحِ، فَرَاجَعْتُ نِيَّتِي وَإِرَادَتِي، فَرَأَيْتُ الرِّيَاءَ قَدْ سَبَقَ الصِّدْقَ وَرَأَيْتُ الصِّدْقَ غَائِبًا عَنِّي، فَأَرَدْتُ أَنْ أَنْقُلَ الْإِرَادَةَ بِحَقِيقَتِهَا إِلَى الصِّدْقِ وَالصِّحَّةِ، وَحُسْنِ النِّيَّةِ، وَأَنْ أَتَّقِيَ الْهَوَى، بِحِلْيَتِهِ وَرِيَائِهِ وَشَهْوَتِهِ،

Qultu: ʾidhā ʾaradtu ʾan ʾaʿmala al-ʿamala, waqaftu qabla al-iftitāḥi, fa-rājaʿtu niyyatī wa-ʾirādatī, fa-raʾaytu al-riyāʾa qad sabaqa al-ṣidqa wa-raʾaytu al-ṣidqa ghāʾiban ʿannī, fa-ʾaradtu ʾan ʾanqula al-ʾirādata biḥaqīqatihā ʾilā al-ṣidqi wa-al-ṣiḥḥati, wa-ḥusni al-niyyati, wa-ʾan ʾattaqiya al-hawā, biḥilyatihi wa-riyāʾihi wa-shahwatihi,

I asked, “When I wish to perform a deed, I pause before beginning and examine my intention and purpose. I find that showing off has preceded truthfulness, and truthfulness is absent. I then wish to turn my intention in reality toward truthfulness, soundness, and good purpose, and to guard against desire with its adornment, display, and craving.

فَمَتَى أَعْلَمُ أَنِّي قَدْ فَعَلْتُ ذٰلِكَ، وَأَتَيْتُ مِنْهُ عَلَى مَا أَرَدْتُ، وَقَدْ ذَكَرْتَ أَنَّ ذِكْرَ النِّيَّةِ وَالصِّدْقِ لَا يَنْفَعُنِي حَتَّى يَكُونَ بِتَحْقِيقِ الْإِرَادَةِ؟

fa-matā ʾaʿlamu ʾannī qad faʿaltu dhālika, wa-ʾataytu minhu ʿalā mā ʾaradtu, wa-qad dhakarta ʾanna dhikra al-niyyati wa-al-ṣidqi lā yanfaʿunī ḥattā yakūna bitaḥqīqi al-ʾirādati?

When can I know that I have done this and achieved what I intended? You have said that remembering intention and truthfulness does me no good until the intention is actually realized.”

قَالَ: لِأَنَّهُمَا لَا يَجْتَمِعَانِ فِي قَلْبٍ وَاحِدٍ. ثُمَّ قَالَ: رُبَّمَا اجْتَمَعَ اسْمُهُمَا، وَلَا يَجْتَمِعُ أَنْفُسُهُمَا. فَإِذَا لَمْ تُرِدِ النَّفْسُ وَتَشْتَهِي مَا كُنْتَ أَنْتَ تُرِيدُهُ وَتَشْتَهِي مِنْ إِرَادَةِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى بِذٰلِكَ الْعَمَلِ وَالدَّارِ الْآخِرَةِ، فَقَدْ عَلِمْتَ أَنَّ هٰذَا قَدْ حَضَرَ، وَذَاكَ قَدْ غَابَ، كَمَا كُنْتَ تَعْلَمُ أَنَّ الرِّيَاءَ حَاضِرٌ، وَالنِّيَّةَ غَائِبَةٌ.

Qāla: li-ʾannahumā lā yajtamiʿāni fī qalbin wāḥidin. Thumma qāla: rubbamā ijtamaʿa ismuhumā, wa-lā yajtamiʿu ʾanfusuhumā. Fa-ʾidhā lam turidi al-nafsu wa-tashtahī mā kunta ʾanta turīduhu wa-tashtahī min ʾirādati Allāhi taʿālā bi-dhālika al-ʿamali wa-al-dāri al-ʾākhirati, fa-qad ʿalimta ʾanna hādhā qad ḥaḍara, wa-dhāka qad ghāba, kamā kunta taʿlamu ʾanna al-riyāʾa ḥāḍirun, wa-al-niyyata ghāʾibatun.

He replied, “Because the two do not coexist in one heart.” Then he said, “Their names may come together, but their realities do not. When the self does not want or crave what you want and crave, namely to seek God Most High and the next abode through that deed, you know that the latter is present and the former absent, just as you previously knew that showing off was present and intention absent.”

وَإِنِ اشْتَبَهَ عَلَيْكَ الَّذِي وَصَفْتُ لَكَ، فَانْقُضِ الْأَمْرَ كَأَنَّكَ لَا تُرِيدُ أَنْ تَعْمَلَهُ الْبَتَّةَ، وَاصْدُقْ فِيهِ، فَإِنْ عَلِمْتَ أَنَّكَ قَدْ صَدَقْتَ بِنَقْضِكَ لَهُ، فَابْتَدِئْهُ مِنَ الرَّأْسِ. فَإِنْ وَجَدْتَ مِنْ نَفْسِكَ الرِّضَا وَالسُّكُونَ بِنَقْضِ الْعَمَلِ، وَالتَّرْكِ لَهُ فَاعْلَمْ أَنَّهُ عَلَامَةُ حُضُورِ الصِّدْقِ، وَغَيْبَةِ الْهَوَى وَالرِّيَاءِ. وَإِنْ وَجَدْتَ كَرَاهِيَةَ النَّقْضِ وَالتَّرْكِ فَاعْلَمْ أَنَّ الْهَوَى بَعْدُ فِيهِ.

Wa-ʾini ishtabaha ʿalayka alladhī waṣaftu laka, fa-unquḍi al-ʾamra kaʾannaka lā turīdu ʾan taʿmalahu al-battata, wa-uṣduq fīhi, fa-ʾin ʿalimta ʾannaka qad ṣadaqta binaqḍika lahu, fa-ibtadiʾhu mina al-raʾsi. Fa-ʾin wajadta min nafsika al-riḍā wa-al-sukūna binaqḍi al-ʿamali, wa-al-tarki lahu fa-iʿlam ʾannahu ʿalāmatu ḥuḍūri al-ṣidqi, wa-ghaybati al-hawā wa-al-riyāʾi. Wa-ʾin wajadta karāhiyata al-naqḍi wa-al-tarki fa-iʿlam ʾanna al-hawā baʿdu fīhi.

If what I have described is unclear to you, cancel the undertaking as though you had no intention of doing it at all, and be truthful about this. If you know that you have truly canceled it, begin again from the start. If you find your self content and at rest with canceling and abandoning the deed, know that this is a sign that truthfulness is present and desire and showing off are absent. If you dislike canceling and abandoning it, know that desire is still within it.

قُلْتُ: اضْرِبْ لِي فِيهِ مَثَلًا يَكُونُ أَبْيَنَ مِنْ هٰذَا.

Qultu: iḍrib lī fīhi mathalan yakūnu ʾabyana min hādhā.

I asked, “Give me an example that makes this clearer.”

قَالَ: مِثْلُ رَجُلٍ هَمَّ أَنْ يَتَّخِذَ طَعَامًا يَدْعُو إِلَيْهِ أَقْوَامًا، فَرَاجَعَ نَفْسَهُ وَعَزْمَهُ، فَإِذَا هُوَ يُرِيدُ أَنْ يَدْعُوَ فُلَانًا لِشَيْءٍ كَانَ وَافَقَهُ مِنْهُ.

Qāla: mithlu rajulin hamma ʾan yattakhidha ṭaʿāman yadʿū ʾilayhi ʾaqwāman, fa-rājaʿa nafsahu wa-ʿazmahu, fa-ʾidhā huwa yurīdu ʾan yadʿuwa fulānan lishayʾin kāna wāfaqahu minhu.

He replied, “Take a man who intends to prepare food and invite people. He examines himself and his resolve, and finds that he wants to invite one person because of something agreeable he received from him.

وَإِذَا هُوَ يُرِيدُ أَنْ يَدْعُوَ الْآخَرَ يُرِيدُ ضَرْبًا مِنَ الِاسْتِطَالَةِ، وَأَنْ يَسْتَخْدِمَهُ وَيَخْضَعَ لَهُ. وَإِذَا هُوَ يُرِيدُ أَنْ يَدْعُوَ الْآخَرَ لِيَسْتَعِينَ بِهِ عَلَى ظُلْمٍ. وَإِذَا هُوَ يُرِيدُ أَنْ يَدْعُوَ الْآخَرَ لِيُصِيبَ مِنْهُ عَرَضًا مِنَ الدُّنْيَا.

Wa-ʾidhā huwa yurīdu ʾan yadʿuwa al-ʾākhara yurīdu ḍarban mina al-istiṭālati, wa-ʾan yastakhdimahu wa-yakhḍaʿa lahu. Wa-ʾidhā huwa yurīdu ʾan yadʿuwa al-ʾākhara liyastaʿīna bihi ʿalā ẓulmin. Wa-ʾidhā huwa yurīdu ʾan yadʿuwa al-ʾākhara liyuṣība minhu ʿaraḍan mina al-dunyā.

He wants to invite another to gain a kind of ascendancy, to make use of him and have him submit. He wants to invite another to enlist his help in wrongdoing; another to obtain some worldly gain from him;

Source pages 108–109

وَإِذَا هُوَ يُرِيدُ أَنْ يَدْعُوَ الْآخَرَ فَيَحْمَدَهُ وَيُثْنِيَ عَلَيْهِ، وَيَبْسُطَ ذِكْرَهُ. وَإِذَا هُوَ يُرِيدُ أَنْ يَدْعُوَ الْآخَرَ لِيُجَالِسَهُ وَيُزَاوِرَهُ، وَيَدَعَ مُجَالَسَةَ وَمُزَاوَرَةَ غَيْرِهِ. وَإِذَا هُوَ يُرِيدُ أَنْ يَدْعُوَ الْآخَرَ لِحُسْنِ لِقَاءٍ يَلْقَاهُ بِهِ. وَأَشْبَاهِ ذٰلِكَ مِمَّا لَيْسَ لِلَّهِ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى فِيهِ شَيْءٌ، وَإِنَّمَا هُوَ كُلُّهُ لِلدُّنْيَا.

Wa-ʾidhā huwa yurīdu ʾan yadʿuwa al-ʾākhara fa-yaḥmadahu wa-yuthniya ʿalayhi, wa-yabsuṭa dhikrahu. Wa-ʾidhā huwa yurīdu ʾan yadʿuwa al-ʾākhara liyujālisahu wa-yuzāwirahu, wa-yadaʿa mujālasata wa-muzāwarata ghayrihi. Wa-ʾidhā huwa yurīdu ʾan yadʿuwa al-ʾākhara liḥusni liqāʾin yalqāhu bihi. Wa-ʾashbāhi dhālika mimmā laysa li-llāhi subḥānahu wa-taʿālā fīhi shayʾun, wa-ʾinnamā huwa kulluhu li-al-dunyā.

another so that he will commend and praise him and spread his reputation; another so that he will sit with and visit him, giving up the company and visits of others; and another for the warmth of his greeting. These and similar motives contain nothing for God, glory be to Him and exalted is He. They are entirely for this world.”

Source page 109

فَلَمَّا اسْتَبَانَ مِنْ نَفْسِهِ هٰذَا، وَلَمْ تَكُنْ إِرَادَتُهُ وَجْهَ اللَّهِ، وَمَا يَرْجُو مِنْ ثَوَابِ اللَّهِ عَلَى طَعَامِهِمْ، قَالَ فِي نَفْسِهِ لَمَّا تَبَيَّنَ لَهُ ذٰلِكَ: لَا، وَلٰكِنِّي أَتْرُكُ الْإِرَادَةَ الْأُولَى، وَأُحْضِرُ إِرَادَةً ثَانِيَةً أُرِيدُ بِهَا وَجْهَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَحْدَهُ وَالدَّارَ الْآخِرَةَ.

Fa-lammā istabāna min nafsihi hādhā, wa-lam takun ʾirādatuhu wajha Allāhi, wa-mā yarjū min thawābi Allāhi ʿalā ṭaʿāmihim, qāla fī nafsihi lammā tabayyana lahu dhālika: lā, wa-lākinnī ʾatruku al-ʾirādata al-ʾūlā, wa-ʾuḥḍiru ʾirādatan thāniyatan ʾurīdu bihā wajha Allāhi taʿālā waḥdahu wa-al-dāra al-ʾākhirata.

When he recognizes this within himself, and sees that his purpose is not God's face or the divine reward he hopes for in feeding them, he says inwardly, “No. I will abandon the first intention and bring forward a second, seeking through it the face of God Most High alone and the next abode.”

ثُمَّ قَالَ: فَلَعَلِّي أُخْدَعُ فِي هٰذَا وَأَنَا لَا أَشْعُرُ، وَلٰكِنِّي أَدْعُو مَكَانَ هٰؤُلَاءِ قَوْمًا آخَرِينَ أُقَدِّمُ فِيهِمُ النِّيَّةَ وَالْإِرَادَةَ الصَّحِيحَةَ أَمَامَ الطَّعَامِ، أَوْ لَا أَدْعُو أَحَدًا.

Thumma qāla: fa-laʿallī ʾukhdaʿu fī hādhā wa-ʾanā lā ʾashʿuru, wa-lākinnī ʾadʿū makāna hāʾulāʾi qawman ʾākharīna ʾuqaddimu fīhimu al-niyyata wa-al-ʾirādata al-ṣaḥīḥata ʾamāma al-ṭaʿāmi, ʾaw lā ʾadʿū ʾaḥadan.

Then he says, “Perhaps I am being deceived in this without realizing it. Instead, I will invite other people in their place, putting sound intention and purpose before the meal, or invite no one.”

فَإِنْ رَأَى نَفْسَهُ عِنْدَ ذٰلِكَ تُنَازِعُهُ إِلَى أَنْ يَدْعُوَهُمْ، فَكَرَاهِيَةُ النَّفْسِ لِتَرْكِ دَعْوَتِهِمْ، وَمَحَبَّتُهَا لِدَعْوَتِهِمْ، عَلَامَةُ أَنَّهُ غَيْرُ صَادِقٍ، وَأَنَّهُ مَخْدُوعٌ.

Fa-ʾin raʾā nafsahu ʿinda dhālika tunāziʿuhu ʾilā ʾan yadʿuwahum, fa-karāhiyatu al-nafsi litarki daʿwatihim, wa-maḥabbatuhā lidaʿwatihim, ʿalāmatu ʾannahu ghayru ṣādiqin, wa-ʾannahu makhdūʿun.

If he then finds his self struggling to make him invite them, its aversion to abandoning their invitation and its desire to invite them are signs that he is not truthful and is deceived.

وَإِنْ سَكَنَتْ إِلَى التَّرْكِ، وَرَضِيَتْ بِهِ، فَهُوَ مِنْ عَلَامَةِ الْخَيْرِ. فَيَنْبَغِي لَهُ حِينَئِذٍ أَنْ يَعْمَلَهُ، وَأَنْ يَمْضِيَ فِيهِ، فَإِنْ شَاءَ دَعَاهُمْ، وَإِنْ شَاءَ دَعَا غَيْرَهُمْ بِنِيَّةٍ جَدِيدَةٍ.

Wa-ʾin sakanat ʾilā al-tarki, wa-raḍiyat bihi, fa-huwa min ʿalāmati al-khayri. Fa-yanbaghī lahu ḥīnaʾidhin ʾan yaʿmalahu, wa-ʾan yamḍiya fīhi, fa-ʾin shāʾa daʿāhum, wa-ʾin shāʾa daʿā ghayrahum biniyyatin jadīdatin.

If it rests content with abandoning the invitation, that is a sign of good. He should then perform the deed and go ahead: he may invite them if he wishes, or invite others, with a new intention.

كَثْرَةُ الْخَطَأِ وَخَفَاءُ الْخِدَاعِ فِي هٰذَا الْبَابِ

Kathratu al-khaṭaʾi wa-khafāʾu al-khidāʿi fī hādhā al-bābi

Frequent error and hidden deception in this matter

وَإِنَّ الْخِدَاعَ وَالْغَلَطَ، وَالْخَطَأَ وَالْعَمْدَ، وَالنِّسْيَانَ وَالْفِتَنَ وَالْبَلَايَا فِي هٰذَا الْبَابِ مِنْ إِخْلَاصِ الْعَمَلِ، وَصِدْقِ الْإِرَادَةِ، وَتَقَدُّمِ النِّيَّةِ شَدِيدٌ، وَالْبَلَاءُ فِيهِ كَثِيرٌ.

Wa-ʾinna al-khidāʿa wa-al-ghalaṭa, wa-al-khaṭaʾa wa-al-ʿamda, wa-al-nisyāna wa-al-fitana wa-al-balāyā fī hādhā al-bābi min ʾikhlāṣi al-ʿamali, wa-ṣidqi al-ʾirādati, wa-taqaddumi al-niyyati shadīdun, wa-al-balāʾu fīhi kathīrun.

Deception and mistakes, unintentional and deliberate wrongs, forgetfulness, temptations, and trials are severe in this matter of sincere deeds, truthful purpose, and putting intention first. Its trials are many.

وَلِشِدَّتِهِ أُعْطِيَ الْعَبْدُ عَلَى الْعَمَلِ الْقَلِيلِ بِالْإِخْلَاصِ الثَّوَابَ الْكَثِيرَ.

Wa-lishiddatihi ʾuʿṭiya al-ʿabdu ʿalā al-ʿamali al-qalīli bi-al-ʾikhlāṣi al-thawāba al-kathīra.

Because of its difficulty, the servant is given abundant reward for a small deed done sincerely.

وَآفَاتُهُ أَكْثَرُ مِنْ أَنْ يَضْبِطَهَا الْكِتَابُ، وَصِحَّتُهُ أَعَزُّ مِنْ أَنْ يَبْلُغَهَا الْآمِنُ الْمَخْدُوعُ الْمُغْتَرُّ بِظَاهِرِ الْكِتَابِ، وَظَاهِرِ الْعِلْمِ، وَإِنَّمَا يُدْرِكُ ذٰلِكَ كُلَّهُ وَيَعْرِفُهُ أَهْلُ الْعِنَايَةِ بِأَنْفُسِهِمْ، الَّذِينَ خَافُوا عَلَى أَعْمَالِهِمْ أَنْ تَبْطُلَ، وَخَافُوا عَلَى أَنْفُسِهِمْ أَنْ تَتْلَفَ.

Wa-ʾāfātuhu ʾaktharu min ʾan yaḍbiṭahā al-kitābu, wa-ṣiḥḥatuhu ʾaʿazzu min ʾan yablughahā al-ʾāminu al-makhdūʿu al-mughtarru biẓāhiri al-kitābi, wa-ẓāhiri al-ʿilmi, wa-ʾinnamā yudriku dhālika kullahu wa-yaʿrifuhu ʾahlu al-ʿināyati bi-ʾanfusihim, alladhīna khāfū ʿalā ʾaʿmālihim ʾan tabṭula, wa-khāfū ʿalā ʾanfusihim ʾan tatlafa.

Its defects are too numerous for a book to encompass, and its soundness too rare to be attained by someone who feels secure while deceived by the outward form of a book and of knowledge. Only those who take care over their selves grasp and recognize all this, fearing that their deeds may be nullified and their souls ruined.

وَلَا يَنْبَغِي لِعَاقِلٍ أَنْ يَفْتُرَ عَنْ مُفَاتَشَةِ هِمَّتِهِ، وَمُحَاسَبَةِ نَفْسِهِ، وَنَقَاءِ ضَمِيرِهِ، وَمُرَاقَبَةِ اللَّهِ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى عِنْدَ كُلِّ عَمَلٍ يُرِيدُ أَنْ يَعْمَلَهُ، وَإِلَّا فَهُوَ مَخْدُوعٌ.

Wa-lā yanbaghī liʿāqilin ʾan yaftura ʿan mufātashati himmatihi, wa-muḥāsabati nafsihi, wa-naqāʾi ḍamīrihi, wa-murāqabati Allāhi subḥānahu wa-taʿālā ʿinda kulli ʿamalin yurīdu ʾan yaʿmalahu, wa-ʾillā fa-huwa makhdūʿun.

A person of understanding should never slacken in scrutinizing his purpose, calling his self to account, keeping his conscience pure, and remaining watchfully aware of God, glory be to Him and exalted is He, at every deed he wishes to perform. Otherwise, he is deceived.

Source page 110

وَاللَّهَ نَسْأَلُ التَّوْفِيقَ وَالْفَهْمَ وَالْعَزْمَ الصَّحِيحَ، وَالْإِرَادَةَ الصَّادِقَةَ.

Wa-Allāha nasʾalu al-tawfīqa wa-al-fahma wa-al-ʿazma al-ṣaḥīḥa, wa-al-ʾirādata al-ṣādiqata.

We ask God for enabling grace, understanding, sound resolve, and truthful purpose.

وَاعْلَمْ أَنَّ السَّهْوَ وَالْغَفْلَةَ عَنْ هٰذَا الْعِلْمِ الَّذِي بِهِ تَصْفُو الْأَعْمَالُ جَهْلٌ شَدِيدٌ، وَاغْتِرَارٌ، وَقِلَّةُ عِنَايَةٍ بِالنَّفْسِ، وَقِلَّةُ مُبَالَاةٍ بِاطِّلَاعِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى عَلَى فَسَادِ الْعَمَلِ. وَمِنْ بَيْنِ هٰذِهِ الصِّفَاتِ الْمَذْمُومَةِ الَّتِي ذَكَرْنَاهَا نَتَجَتِ الْهَلَكَةُ.

Wa-iʿlam ʾanna al-sahwa wa-al-ghaflata ʿan hādhā al-ʿilmi alladhī bihi taṣfū al-ʾaʿmālu jahlun shadīdun, wa-ightirārun, wa-qillatu ʿināyatin bi-al-nafsi, wa-qillatu mubālātin bi-iṭṭilāʿi Allāhi taʿālā ʿalā fasādi al-ʿamali. Wa-min bayni hādhihi al-ṣifāti al-madhmūmati allatī dhakarnāhā natajati al-halakatu.

Know that inattention and heedlessness toward this knowledge, through which deeds become pure, are grave ignorance and delusion, little care for the self, and little concern that God Most High sees the deed's corruption. From among these blameworthy qualities we have described, ruin is born.

وَنَحْنُ نَسْأَلُ اللَّهَ سُبْحَانَهُ الرَّشَادَ وَالسَّدَادَ، وَالْعَوْنَ عَلَى الْقِيَامِ بِمَا قَدْ عَلِمْنَا، وَالشُّكْرَ عَلَى مَا قَدْ فَهِمْنَا، وَنَسْأَلُهُ أَنْ يَزِيدَنَا مِنْ فَضْلِهِ، إِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاغِبُونَ، وَلَا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللَّهِ الْعَلِيِّ الْعَظِيمِ.

Wa-naḥnu nasʾalu Allāha subḥānahu al-rashāda wa-al-sadāda, wa-al-ʿawna ʿalā al-qiyāmi bimā qad ʿalimnā, wa-al-shukra ʿalā mā qad fahimnā, wa-nasʾaluhu ʾan yazīdanā min faḍlihi, ʾinnā ʾilayhi rāghibūna, wa-lā ḥawla wa-lā quwwata ʾillā bi-Allāhi al-ʿaliyyi al-ʿaẓīmi.

We ask God, glory be to Him, for guidance and sound judgment, help in putting into practice what we have learned, and gratitude for what we have understood. We ask Him to grant us more of His bounty. To Him we turn in longing. There is no power or strength except through God, the Most High, the Magnificent.